


I'll Keep Your Secrets Safe

by Muffindragon227



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, F/M, Fake Dating, Family Drama, Friendship, Gay Lyon, Gruvion but not a love triangle, Homophobia, M/M, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn, Trans Meredy, home for the holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:45:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 195,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7172069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muffindragon227/pseuds/Muffindragon227
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>"She'd confronted him about the sudden onslaught of extra favours, leading to him asking her for one of the most cliche, over-done favours in cinematic history. He’d asked her to be his fake girlfriend for the holidays.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>It was a testament to their friendship and Juvia's loving nature that she had readily agreed to help, rather than mocking him or trying to talk him out of such a stupid plan."</b>
</p>
<p>All she had to do was convince his family they were dating for the next two weeks, and try not to fall for his super hot step brother, who Lyon just happened to loathe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home For The Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> _Warning: This fic will contain a homosexual character and a transexual character, as well as address issues that homosexuals face. If this is not something you’re interested in consider yourself warned and feel free to hit the back button. Some of the opinions expressed in this fanfiction do not necessarily reflect the views of the author._

* * *

Lyon had forgotten how peaceful the long drive north could be. A soft blanket of snow coated the rolling hills and small thickets of evergreens and leafless trees that sped by. He tapped his fingers in time to the beat as he sung his heart out to the lengthy musicals playlist that Juvia had created for them.

It was an easy drive, with beautiful scenery, and he'd managed to avoid the hardest part of the two day drive because Juvia had insisted on taking the morning driving so he could sleep a little longer.

He'd protested of course, being the gentleman he was, but they both knew Juvia would be up that early anyways and he quickly relented to her logic. Once he'd woken they spent the whole first day and the better part of the morning singing and chatting excitedly.

She'd gone quiet a little after he'd taken over, but a RENT song had come up and she always went quiet for those. He figured she was just feeling a bit tired when she didn't pick back up. Early riser or not; lengthy driving could exhaust even the most energetic of people.

A flash of a green highway sign caught his attention. It stated that Magnolia was fifteen miles away, but it was the town at the bottom that caused his heart to race. Eranthis was a sixty-five miles away. He tried to ignore the sudden wave of anxiety and focused on the road ahead. With a newfound drive he threw himself back into the final lines of Chicago’s number one song.

Even as the music faded, Lyon continued to hold the last note of the song. The unease he was feeling only served to highlight Juvia’s unnatural silence. Something about it felt wrong, and suddenly he couldn’t shake the thoughts that circled in his mind. 

He snuck a quick peek at her, finding that she was staring out the window, as she had been every other time he’d glanced at her. Truth be told she didn’t seem tired, just deep in thought. He tapped his fingers anxiously against the wheel, and continued to shift his gaze between the road ahead and his best friend. Silently he willed her to notice, but whatever she was thinking about consumed her. He could feel the agitation stirring up inside.

They were an hour away and he couldn’t keep ignoring the facts. He was going to be home in one hour. Home for the first time in over two years. Home…

Lyon clenched his fist and exhaled loudly before reaching out and smacking the power button on the stereo. Juvia jolted up at the action and whipped her head around towards him and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Lyon?”

“You doing okay?” He asked, eyes flicking back and forth between her and the road ahead.

“Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?” He had to chuckle at the cute way her brow furrowed.

“Because instead of singing along with me to Chicago, you’re staring out the window looking like we’re driving to a funeral.”

Juvia bit her lower lip and averted her gaze, yet again staring off into the horizon. The silence stretched between them, and Lyon knew he’d been right. He forced himself to refocus on the road and wait.

Finally he heard her sigh, “What if they don’t like me?”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously! I’ve never done this whole... meet the parents thing. What if I say the wrong thing? What if they think I’m not good enough for you? Or your mom thinks I’m trying to steal her baby boy away from her. What if they hate the gifts I bought them, or don’t like the flowers, or the wine...”

Lyon couldn’t stifle his laughter any further and it erupted as a loud snort, and continued as a cackle. Which earned him a hard smack on the arm.

“This isn’t funny!” He couldn’t disagree more, but the distraught look on her face helped sober him, and he managed to reel in his laughter.

Lyon reached out and took one of her hands in his, “Juvia, my parents are going to love you. They manage to love my step brother, and he’s a gigantic, self absorbed asshat.” He offered her a cocky grin. “Besides, you’re showing up with their favourite child, that’s like guaranteed good books status.”

He caught her smile out of the corner of his eye, and said, “You’re showing up with flowers, wine and whiskey, despite me telling you that you didn’t need to. That’s bound to get you some serious brownie points, even Ultear ought to be pleased.”

“So you’re not worried about this?”

“About you getting along with my family? No. Not in the slightest. About going back to my stupid, small, redneck home town for two weeks…”

He felt her squeeze his hand. “I’m with you this time, I’ve got your back.”

“You better, I wouldn’t be doing this without you.”

Finally Juvia giggled, and Lyon felt a bit of relief wash over him. The truth was he hadn’t been home since he’d started university and he was running out of excuses not to visit. Besides, even if he hated the town, he missed spending Christmas at home with his family. He just didn’t miss the teasing, but at least in high school he’d been dating Sherry. Without a girlfriend he lacked any defense.

But, miraculously, Juvia’s usual Christmas tradition of eating takeout all week while binge watching old action and horror movies with her foster brother fell through when Gajeel told her his girlfriend’s parents wanted to meet him. Juvia, being Juvia, had insisted he agree to it, but Gajeel was stubborn, doubly so about their weird anti-Christmas tradition. It had quickly escalated into a huge fight, until Lyon had asked if she’d come home with him instead.

He sold it to both of them as the perfect solution to all their problems. Juvia could be his moral support, and she wouldn’t have to spend Christmas alone; which meant Gajeel didn’t have to feel guilty about going to meet his girlfriend’s parents.

He waited a whole week after she’d convinced Gajeel to agree before asking her for the real favour. He’d spent each day buttering her up; bringing her tea between classes, bringing her late night study snacks, daily foot massages. He’d even gotten up and joined her for one of her early morning beach runs. That ended up tipping her off and she’d confronted him about the sudden onslaught of extra favours, leading to him asking her for one of the most cliche, over-done favours in cinematic history. He’d asked her to be his fake girlfriend for the holidays.

It was a testament to their friendship and Juvia's loving nature that she had readily agreed to help, rather than mocking him or trying to talk him out of such a stupid plan. She knew what high school had been like for him, and knew that he wasn't prepared to face that harassment alone. Not when it seemed like people were finally leaving him alone at University.

Juvia gave his hand a little squeeze before removing her hand and reaching forward and turning up the volume on the stereo. The steady beat had both of them both grinning.

“And now the six merry murderesses of the crook county jail and their rendition of the cell block tango.” 

Both of them quickly picked up the lyrics, alternating lines between themselves before bursting out into song as the chorus started. As the car filled once again with song Lyon felt his anxiety wane. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the sign for Magnolia’s first exit. One more hour and he’d be home. The thought filled him with nothing but excitement.

* * *

As they pulled into the driveway all of Juvia’s fears and anxieties came rushing back at her as she stared up at Lyon’s childhood home. The huge two story house looked like something out of a cottage magazine, all decked out with decorations on the lawn, and she could see the strings of lights covering the better part of the house. It screamed festive.

“Watch your step, it’s icy!” Lyon called out as he exited the car. Juvia followed suit, slipping on her gloves and hat as she exited. She was grateful she’d decided to wear a practical pair of boots as her feet hit the icy pavement. “I’ll get the bags, you just grab the stuff in the back.”

“I can get my own bag.”

“Sure you can, but it would make me a pretty crappy boyfriend if I let you. Just grab the flowers and the drinks, you’ll have your hands full with those anyways.” He offered her a grin as he popped the trunk.

Opening the back door Juvia reached down and picked up the gift bag from the floor, placing it on the seat, beside the flowers. She carefully rearranged the two bottles within it and began playing with the tissue paper, constantly readjusting it to make it look fluffier.

“You coming?” Juvia peered over her shoulder to find Lyon waiting by the path that lead to the front door. She took a deep breath, and then another, exhaling and watching as it fogged in front of her. Finally she grabbed the bag then carefully picked up the flowers, cradling them in her other arm, before stepping away from the car and closing the door.

All the while Lyon waited patiently, letting her carefully make her way down the driveway to his side.

“So this is the house you grew up in?” she asked, taking another look at place.

“Yep.”

“It’s huge.”

“Not really, you’re just use to cities where everything is cramped together. Out here in the country there’s actually some space.” He teased. Juvia just nodded, they’d grown up in different worlds and to him it was just a regular house, but she knew that even out in the middle of the country a house that size was expensive. She shifted on her feet and wondered if a sweater dress and leggings was appropriate. Too late to worry now.

“Well no point in standing out here. We should head in, so you can finally introduce me to this family of yours.” She smiled up at him.

She felt Lyon’s hand cup hers through her glove, lifting it and the gift bag up so he could place a kiss on the back of it. He smiled back at her, eyes shining. “Thank you for doing this with me Juvia. You’re a wonderful friend and I don’t know what I would do without you.”

She felt some of the tension that had been building ease up, and she smiled brightly. “Of course. What kind of girlfriend would pass up the chance to meet her boyfriend’s family. Besides if I wasn’t here, you’d end up meeting your first love, and fall for eachother all over again and then you’d leave me, and well… I just can’t allow that.”

This time both of them burst out laughing. Cliche plot tropes had become an inside joke in the last few weeks.

“Nope, definitely can’t have that.” Lyon chuckled, then nudged her forward. “Come on, let’s get inside before you turn into a popsicle.”

He lead the way to the front door and pulled out his keys, flipping through them to the right one before opening the door and heading inside. Juvia followed, closing the door behind her.

“Hey, it’s me! I’m home!” Lyon called out as he set their suitcases off to the side.

“Ah, my cute little boy is home!” A feminine voice called from down the hall, and suddenly a beautiful older woman with short black hair ran towards them and crushed Lyon in a hug. He hugged her back tightly, smiling like a little kid.

Ur stepped back to look at him. “I’ve missed you so much! It’s about time you finally came back home.”

“I missed you too, Mom.” Lyon replied, before leaning down to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Hey! Lyon, you finally made it!” Juvia’s head whipped to the left where a tall dark haired man had appeared. He quickly stepped forward and clapped Lyon on the back before pulling him into a hug. Juvia stood back, watching.

She knew the woman was Ur, and that man must be his step-father Silver. Both were smiling from ear to ear just seeing him and were trapping him in a tight family hug as his Mom gave him a large kiss on the cheek. It was cute to watch as they doted over him, and Lyon was clearly lapping it up.

“Well look who finally decided to come visit! I was starting to forget what you looked like, kid.” Juvia stared in awe at the woman who’d followed Silver out. She was just a little taller than Ur, and her black hair hung down past her waist but other than that she looked like an exact replica, and there was no doubt she was Lyon’s sister- technically half-sister but Juvia knew Lyon didn’t care about that technicality.

Ultear crowded into the foyer with the rest of their family and made her way forward to hug Lyon as well, welcoming him home after so long; but as she did, her eyes locked with Juvia’s. Juvia felt a shiver run down her spine as the older woman gave her a quick once over, then suddenly she was smiling and pulling away from Lyon.

“Well I see your social skills still haven’t improved, were you planning to introduce us to your friend?” She questioned, and nodded towards Juvia.

Both Ur and Silver’s gazes turned towards her as well, and Juvia forced herself to stand straight and smile at them. They seemed a bit surprised at her presence and she briefly wondered if Lyon had failed to tell them he was bringing her. She’d assumed he’d already spoken with them but was beginning to regret not having confirmed that detail.

Lyon turned and smiled brightly at her, and motioned her forward. She slowly inched away from the doorway and towards them.

“Right, this is my girlfriend Juvia! Mom, you remember me telling you about her before right? Her plans ended up getting cancelled and so I asked if she wanted to spend Christmas with us instead! I figured you wouldn’t mind. Juvia; this is my mom Ur, my dad Silver, and my sister Ultear.” Lyon explained, confirming Juvia’s earlier assessments. Not that she really noticed, her heart had stopped when he brushed over the fact that he hadn’t asked if she would be welcome.

There was a pregnant pause before Ur spoke up. “Your girlfriend?” She asked, eyes darting from Lyon to Juvia and back. The other two continued to stare and her, and she was certain everything was about to go up in smoke.

Thinking fast, she quickly stepped forward bring herself face to face with Ur, and faked an even bigger smile.

“Yep! I’m really so sorry for intruding. When Lyon asked me to come with him I’d thought he’d already asked for permission.” She paused to glare at him, before turning back to his mom. “I would normally never impose like this, but I have to say it’s wonderful to finally get to meet you all. Lyon talks about you all the time! And these are for you!”

She carefully offered the flowers towards Ur, and prayed for a miracle. The older woman blinked and then suddenly smiled at her brightly.

“Oh no, don’t be silly! You’re not intruding at all! This is Lyon’s home too and he’s welcome to bring home as many people as he wants. I just don’t remember him mentioning that you two were dating that’s all! But look at you, you’re too sweet, bringing me flowers!” Ur had Juvia in a hug before she could comprehend what was happening and she lightly hugged the woman back, unused to such a warm greeting from strangers.

Ur pulled back and quickly took the flowers from her. “I will be right back! I’m just going to go put these in some water. But really dear, this is too much, you didn’t have to go through all the trouble!”

"That's what I tried to tell her, but she insisted. Took an extra half hour to get here because of it!" Lyon teased and Juvia shot him a glare in response.

"Good! It's about time someone taught you some manners. I swear, mom lets you get away with murder. You know even Gray brings her something." Ultear interjected and Lyon's expression soured.

"Yeah, well it's about time he showed some appreciation, he certainly gave her a hard enough time growing up." Lyon retorted.

Juvia couldn't help but glance towards Silver nervously. But the man seemed unfazed by Lyon's hostile remark, choosing to laugh at it instead.

"Yeah well, just because you were the good kid growing up doesn't mean you shouldn't show a little appreciation from time to time, especially when you haven’t been home in over two years."

Lyon just rolled his eyes and huffed. Before he could think up another retort Juvia presented the gift bag to Ultear. "Really, it's from both of us, and we also brought these."

Ultear looked a little surprised but quickly took the gift and reached in pulling out the whiskey. She grinned and handed it to Silver.

"Wow, you're really looking to impress." She stated and then reached in and pulled out the wine turning it to check the label. "Well consider your mission accomplished. You've got good taste in wine!"

Juvia blushed at the praise but smiled back at the older woman. "I'm glad you approve. Lyon mentioned you were the wine connoisseur of the family so if you're happy with the choices then I think the rest of your family should be pleased."

Ultear burst out laughing and wrapped an arm around Juvia. "I like you! You're definitely well mannered! I sincerely doubt Lyon considers me a connoisseur of anything but it's sweet of you to interpret him that way."

Juvia giggled right along with her, which prompted an eye roll from Lyon. "And you were worried... Not even five minutes in the door and already my own sister likes you better than me!"

Silver laughed at that and clapped Lyon on the shoulder. "She brought flowers, wine and whiskey. I think it's safe to say everyone likes her better than you at this point."

"Now don't say that! A mother's love isn't so easily displaced. But really dear you needn't have worried. I assure you we're very friendly people despite what my son might have told you." Ur reassured her.

Juvia was quick to protest. "He's only told me good things about all of you, I swear. Nothing bad at all. I just haven't done this before. Spending Christmas with another family that is...."

"Well we're happy to have you Juvia, so no more worrying. Now you kids should head upstairs and get unpacked before dinner. I'll help you carry the bags up if you'd like." Silver offered with a smile.

"Nah, it's okay I can manage, Dad." Lyon replied, taking the suitcases from Silver's hands and heading up stairs.

Juvia quickly bowed before his family. "Thank you so much for having me. It really is a pleasure to get to meet all of you. You're all as wonderful as he described."

She flashed them a quick smile before turning to follow Lyon up the curved stairs.

When she got to the top there were two doors in front of her and one just a little down and to the left. Instead Lyon turned to right and opened a door that faced the front door. Juvia followed him into the room and peered around.

It was a decent sized room, with beautiful blue walls and dark brown furniture. The queen sized bed was centered in the middle of the wall, opposite the door, and was covered in a patterned grey comforter. Light grey curtains hung from the window behind it. There were a couple pictures on the dresser and the desk beside it was organized and tidy. A few musical posters decorated the walls along with shelves of CD’s and records.

Lyon had left their suitcases in front of the closet and proceeded to flop onto his bed.

“It’s good to be home.” He smiled at her, eyes bright with merriment. “Welcome to Casa de Lyon, come on in and make yourself at home. You can hang things in the closet or take over some of the dresser drawers. Should be lots of room in both.”

“Thanks,” Juvia made her way over to the bed and sat down beside him. Without any warning she delivered a quick hard smack to his forearm.

“Ow!”

“That's for not telling your parents you were bringing me.” She hissed, finally able to properly vent her frustration. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Pfft. We haven’t had to ask permission to bring guests home since we started high school, they’re happy to have people.”

“Lyon, bringing home friends for dinner is one thing. Bringing home your girlfriend to stay with you for two weeks is another thing entirely. A little bit of notice probably would have been appreciated.”

“Yeah, probably. Look, honestly I was just worried you might come to your senses and back out on me at the last minute.”

Juvia sighed, and placed her hand over his. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Lyon looked up at her before moving so he could rest his head on her lap, Juvia removed her hand from his and began to card her fingers through his soft, white locks instead. “I know, you’re pretty amazing like that. I was just freaking out. Thanks for having my back anyways.”

“Always.” Juvia answered, then leaned down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Now, where’s the bathroom?”

Lyon chuckled and sat up. “Second door on your right, just across from the stairs.”

Juvia got up and walked back into the hallway, and made her way to the second door. She grabbed the doorknob and turned, frowning when it barely budged. She knocked lightly on the door, figuring someone must be using it, and waited for a reply. When she got none, she tried again, this time knocking a little louder. Again she got no reply, she tried the knob again but nothing, and was about to call out to the person inside when she heard a click from the door and felt the knob turning.

She immediately released it and took a step back as the door opened.

“Geez Tear, chill out. I had to wait for you earlier.”

Juvia felt her throat run dry as she stared at the man before her. His messy black hair was still dripping and the water droplets were hitting his well defined shoulders and chest and continuing down tracing his abs before being absorbed by the towel around his waist. Juvia jerked her eyes up to meet his, and prayed he hadn’t caught her staring.

Pitch black eyes stared back at her intensely. He frowned before giving her a once over of his own and Juvia had to fight with herself to keep her eyes from wandering again. After a moment those eyes locked with hers again. She knew she should say something but it was taking all her effort not to ogle him or worse, jump him right there. After all, chances were good that he was Lyon’s super hated stepbrother.

Finally he broke the silence between them. “Who the hell are you?”


	2. Oh Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia finally meets Lyon's step brother; it's kind of a rocky start.

* * *

“Uh,” Juvia just continued to stare at him, uncertain how to answer the question that had just been posed to her. She was far too distracted by the fact that an insanely hot, half naked man was standing in front of her. Dripping wet no less. It’s something straight out of a romance novel and she couldn’t help but imagine him grabbing her and shoving her hard up against the-.

“She’s my girlfriend.” Lyon’s voice cut through her thoughts like a hot knife and she jumped a little at the sound, turning to see him standing in the doorway to his room, arms folded and glaring in their direction.

“Your what?” 

“My girlfriend.” Lyon repeated, stepping out into the hall. Tall, Dark and Handsome was glancing back and forth between them with the cutest little frown Juvia had ever seen. She sent a silent prayer out to the Powers That Be that he wasn’t who she suspected he was. It just wouldn’t be fair.

Lyon stopped beside her and placed a hand on the small of her back before gesturing towards the man in front of them. “Gray, this is Juvia. Juvia this is Gray.” 

So much for wishful thinking. He was definitely Lyon’s step brother. 

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you.” She mumbled while trying hard not to stare. He was like tall glass of water in the desert that was her sex life, and god she was thirsty.

“Sure.” He replied, his dark and brooding gaze weighing heavy on her. Heat coiled in her stomach and radiated outwards and she could feel her skin flush with it. 

Lyon cleared his throat, drawing Gray’s attention. “Shouldn’t you go put on some clothes? It’s incredibly inappropriate to be walking around in nothing but a towel with a guest in the house.”

“Well, when I got in the shower there weren’t guests in the house.” Gray snapped, his entire body suddenly tense. Despite herself, Juvia’s eyes wandered back over his figure, admiring the way his muscles flexed. “No one mentioned we were having guests over either.” 

“Other people live in this house! No one wants to see you half naked!”

“You’re the only one who’s got a problem with it, and you haven’t bothered coming home in years so excuse me for assuming you’d bail yet again.” Gray spat. Lyon stiffened. His body weight shifted, and his far arm clenched into a fist. Juvia scrambled in front of him catching it before he could move to swing and placing her other hand on Lyon’s chest. 

“That’s enough, both of you.” She turned to frown at Gray as well, and found he’d shifted to a fighting stance. Her heart hammered uncomfortably, but she forced herself to stay calm. “Lyon, go unpack, I’ll be there in a minute. Gray you should go change, you’re dripping water all over the floor.” 

“You better clean that up too, before it warps the floorboards.” Lyon demanded, pointing at the small droplets coating the floor just under Gray’s figure.

Gray smirked. “Of course, can’t have that, can we?” 

He tugged at the towel around his waist letting it drop to the floor before bending over to wipe up the water. Juvia’s jaw dropped and she found she could do nothing more than take in the view. 

“What the fuck Gray! Do you have no shame?” Lyon bellowed. 

Gray just ignored him and suddenly turned to face her, and draped the towel over her shoulder. “You don’t mind putting that away for me right?”

Juvia simply shook her head in response and tightened her grip on Lyon as he made to lunge at his step brother. Gray turned his back on them and entered the room between the bathroom and Lyon’s. 

Once the door clicked shut she turned to Lyon. He was still glaring at Gray’s door, looking like he was moments from going and breaking it down. She ran her hand up his arm, and placed it on his cheek, forcing him to look at her instead.

“Deep breath, just let it go,” she murmured. Lyon closed his eyes and did as she instructed. Once, then twice. Finally he started to visibly relax. 

“Sorry about that. Go to the bathroom, I’ll be in our room unpacking. Just holler if he harasses you though.”

“Will do.” She waited for him to close his own door before allowing herself to enter the bathroom, all the while mulling over what she’d gotten herself into.

* * *

Lyon tried to start unpacking but his previous good mood was all but obliterated. Gray was always such an ass, and college had apparently just served to make him worse. That, and Lyon's absence, which he was sure was going to turn into Gray's newest dig. 

The sound of his door being opened, then clicked shut again announced Juvia's return. "You okay now?"

Lyon just sighed and turned his head to look at her. "Eh, I'll be okay. I'm use to him being an ass." 

He watched as Juvia's gaze broke away from his, and she began fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. 

"Sorry about him by the way. I'd say he's normally not like that, but he is. He has no consideration for personal boundaries and can never seem to keep his clothes on." 

Juvia giggled. "He does seem to be quite comfortable being exposed." 

Lyon frowned at her and took a minute to study her. She'd already started unpacking her clothes and hanging them in the closet. She was grinning ridiculously; her cheeks were flushed and she had this distant look that he recognized all too well. 

"Hey! Don't even go there, Juvia." 

She looked at him wide-eyed for a moment, her cheeks getting pinker, before biting her lower lip. 

"I'm not."

"Uh huh, sure you're not. I know that look, I've seen it enough times to recognize it." 

She offered him a guilty look. "I'm trying not to okay? But even you have to admit he's really hot. You really should have warned me about that."

Lyon scoffed, ignoring most of what she just said. He didn't want to think about it. "He's also an ass, in case you failed to notice." 

"You were being pretty aggressive out there as well." The nonchalant way she mentioned it almost made it sound like she thought he was partially to blame, which was unacceptable. 

"I was only being that way because he was being rude to you, and making you feel uncomfortable." He explained. Juvia seemed like she was about to say something but instead paused for a moment, before smiling at him.

"I'd say I can take care of myself, but I have to admit I was at a loss as to what to say, so thanks for coming to my rescue."

Lyon smile back and her and offered a flourished bow. "Of course my lady, I would face the fires of hell themselves if it meant protecting you!" 

Juvia's laughter filled the room and when he glanced up, Lyon found her doubled over and clutching her stomach, and suddenly he was laughing too. 

Abandoning his attempts to unpack, Lyon crossed the room to join her. She was still laughing hysterically and didn’t notice when he snuck up behind her. One arm wrapped around the middle of her back and the other swept under her knees, lifting her feet from the floor. Juvia shrieked as she was hoisted up, and attempted to protest as he carried her to the bed. Of course she was still laughing so she barely managed to get a single word out at a time. 

Lyon proceeded to drop her onto the bed and climbed on next to her, shoving her over in the process. Once they both were on the bed he pulled her into a hug, and ran his fingers through her hair and down her back. Slowly the giggles lessened and she calmed down, snuggling into his side. 

Lyon continued to stroke her hair, before revisiting the issue that had been derailed. “Seriously though, Gray’s a one night stand kinda guy. Heck I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s slept with half the girls that went to our high school.” 

Lyon winced as he felt a sharp poke against his side. “Really, Lyon? Slut-shaming your own brother? I thought you were above that kind of thinking.” Despite the reprimanding words, her voice was light hearted, and he knew she was mostly just teasing him.

“First off, he’s not my brother. Secondly I’m fine with Gray being a slut, I just thought you’d have higher standards for the guys you’re interested in.”

He felt her shrug, as she responded, “Only when it comes to sex do we seem to think of experience as a negative thing.” 

It was a true statement, and normally he’d agree with it. Heck, normally he wouldn’t care at all who she decided to show an interest in! It wasn’t his place. But Gray was different; and it wasn’t because he hated the man, at least not completely. He’d watched Gray string along a trail of broken hearts in high school because of his commitment issues and Lyon wasn’t about to add Juvia to the list. 

“Seriously, Juvia, I know you. I know how you can get with guys that you like, and I know how it ends. My point isn’t that Gray is a manwhore, my point is that he’s not the type to commit to anyone for any length of time. But I also know he’s not above acting like he is if he thinks that’ll get you into bed with him. I just don’t want to watch him screw with you.” 

Juvia hugged him a bit tighter before sitting up and looking at him in the eyes. “Not gonna happen. I’m here for you, and only you. I’m not gonna lie, he’s hot; but for the next two weeks I’m taken, so no hanky panky for me. I promise.”

“Good. Cause I don’t share anything with him.”

Juvia rolled her eyes, before scootting herself down to the end of the bed. “Now that that’s settled, I’m going to finish the last of my unpacking and go see if I can help with dinner. And you should probably start unpacking.” 

“Yes mom.” Lyon teased, even as he rolled off the bed and made his way back to where his suitcase was sitting. Slowly he began the tedious task of unpacking, keeping a simple mantra on repeat in his mind. So long as Juvia was with him this vacation was gonna be good. He just knew it.

* * *

Once Juvia was finished unpacking she made her way back downstairs, and found Ur and Ultear watching TV in the living room; which was just to the left of the stairs.

As she entered the room, Ur looked up from her knitting. "Is everything alright, dear? Do you need something?"

Juvia blinked in surprise before shaking her head. "No, I'm fine, and we have everything we need. But thank you for asking."

Ultear was looking around her, as though searching for something. "Where's Lyon?"

"Oh, he's still unpacking... He and Gray had a bit of an argument and he's been busy fixating on it."

"Yeah we heard. Well guess the war has started already, don't worry about it though those two have always been like that."

"Lyon had mentioned it. Although I think his version of it might be a bit bias." Juvia confessed.

Ultear laughed. "Oh yeah. Ask Lyon and Gray is rude and inconsiderate; ask Gray and Lyon is a know-it-all who thinks he can boss people around. The fact is they both act like five year olds who expect to get their way and then throw a tantrum when they don't. We thought they might grow out of it, but guess we're just stuck with them as they are."

"Well, at least they haven't started throwing punches. There may be hope yet." Ur interjected, but Juvia shook her head.

"Lyon was about to. I managed to get between them before he could and talk him down, but he was definitely looking to fight."

“Wow, talk about a Christmas miracle. No one has ever managed to get them to back down. We’d all given up years ago!” Ultear exclaimed.

“You must really mean a lot to him.” Juvia shifted under Ur’s soft gaze. It was a statement that rang of approval and weighed heavy on her conscience.

“We mean a lot to each other.” she mumbled, averting her gaze from the women in front of her. Still, she could feel their gazes and smiles directed at her. Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears as the familiar feelings of inferiority and insecurity washed over her.

Taking a deep breath, she forced her usual bright smile back into place. “I almost forgot, I came down to ask if I could help with dinner.”

“Geez, you running for favourite child or what?” Juvia felt her heart stop at Ultear’s words, and her panic must have registered on her face because Ultear was laughing a moment later.

Ur offered her a sympathetic look, “Ignore my daughter, she likes to tease people. Silver’s already started on dinner but I’m sure he’d be happy to have some company while cooking.”

“Well then, I’ll go join him.” With that, she turned on her heels and made her way back out into the foyer and turned right as she passed the stairs, following the hallway that lead to the kitchen. As she entered, she immediately noticed Silver standing at the island in front of her, followed by the fact that she was standing in the biggest kitchen she’d ever seen.

The pots and pans that hung above the island matched the stainless steel appliances, and she noticed a large collection of fresh herbs growing in the window. Never mind the three tiered massive spice rack that sat beside the black glass stove top. If there was a heaven Juvia thought that this kitchen just might be it.

With newfound excitement Juvia bounded around the island. “I was told you might like some help.”

Silver looked up, clearly surprised to find her there, but offered her a genuine smile.

“You were told eh? Which of my family members volunteered you?” He asked with a chuckle. Juvia wasn’t quite sure how to answer the question and honestly felt like she was missing out on an inside joke.

“Umm, I volunteered myself. Ur just mentioned you were in here and that you would probably like some company.”

Suddenly Silver was grinning at her as he wrapped an arm affectionately around her shoulder pulling her into a half hug. “Finally, someone who isn’t afraid of the kitchen! I swear all of them picked up Ur’s attitude towards cooking.”

“They’re all like Lyon?” Juvia couldn’t help but pull a face. She’d tried a couple times to teach Lyon to cook, only to find him panicking about anything other than the simplest tasks; rechecking the recipe half a dozen times for each ingredient, no matter how many times she told him it was just a guideline and that it especially didn’t apply to the vegetables. In the end she’d decided it was just too stressful on both of them, and hardly worth the effort.

“Each and every one of them hates cooking. Although I think Lyon is the worst about it. The others can do some basic cooking and Ur isn’t bad at it, but none of them like helping.” Silver lamented.

“Well, I love it, and I’m happy to give you a hand with anything you need.”

She swore the man lit up like a kid on Christmas. “Well, I’m making chili so it’s not that hard but if you’d like you can chop up the vegetables over there by the sink. They’ve all been rinsed.”

Juvia nodded and headed over, grabbing the mushrooms first and removing the stems from them. “Do you want everything sliced or diced?” she asked.

“Slice the mushrooms, and dice everything else.” Silver answered without missing a beat as he focused on spicing and browning the meat. “You must be pretty into cooking if you know the lingo.”

“I used to watch a lot of cooking shows when I first started learning so I picked up on the terms pretty early on. But I’m definitely into it. I use to cook all the time for my family.”

“Well, it’s nice to have some help, and some charming company.”

The two quickly fell into a steady rhythm, chatting and cooking together with ease. It had been years since she'd actually cooked alongside someone, and she felt a wave of nostalgia as they worked together. Silver even asked for her advice on the spices and after tasting it, she hesitantly suggested adding a stick of cinnamon as well as adding more cumin and some turmeric. She felt an unusual sense of pride when he followed her advice without a second thought, and had lost herself in the moment and hugged him tightly when he later praised her additions.

If he found her sudden affection odd he didn’t comment, and instead hugged her back. It was in that moment Juvia knew she would forever be jealous of Lyon.

* * *

"Mmm. Silver I think this is your best batch of chili yet!" Ur praised, smiling across the dining room table at her husband.

"Mhmm." Gray hummed in agreement as he shoveled more chili into his mouth. Lyon couldn't believe the lack of basic table manners

“Yeah! Dad, what did you put in it? It’s spicier but there’s also a different flavour.”

Silver chuckled. “Well first off, I'm glad you all are enjoying the chili, but it’s hardly me you should be thanking. Juvia was the one who made the spice suggestions so she deserves all the praise. And Ultear, the spice you’re tasting is cinnamon! Juvia said she adds a stick to cook with the chili all the time! Who would have thought, huh?”

Lyon turned to Juvia, who had a light blush dusting her cheeks.

“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” He asked, smirking at her. Juvia frowned at him in response.

“He asked me!” She protested.

"Uh huh, sure. Like you weren’t dying to take over.” Lyon turned to look at Silver. “You oughta be careful, she’ll take over the kitchen if you don’t keep an eye on her.”

Silver burst out laughing. “Is that so? We’ll I certainly won’t mind if the results always taste this good.”

“Well, he certainly never complains when I’m cooking for him back at school.” Juvia interjected.

“Oh, you cook for him! I’m so glad. I’ve been worried that all he’s been eating is junk food and microwaved meals.”

“Mom! Really, I can look after myself.” Lyon protested. He could feel his own cheeks heating up, and Gray was outright laughing at him.

Ultear turned to Juvia with a wicked grin. “He says that, but I’ve seen him burn eggs, so it’s good he’s found you.”

“That was one time!” Lyon cried, glaring across the table at his sister. He couldn’t believe she’d just brought that up. Really, it was just one time, he’d just set the burner up to high and ended up not flipping the eggs in time. It was a simple mistake but would they let him live it down? Of course not.

“Oh! Remember the time he set the fire alarm off trying to cook sausages? The kitchen was filled with smoke! I think that’s when Pops banned him from the kitchen.” Gray teased.

“No, he got banned after the soup incident.”

“Right! Trying to blend hot soup! Got food everywhere, never mind the burns on his chest.” Gray was cackling and Lyon shifted, balling his hands into fists. It was one thing for Ultear to make fun of him, but he was gonna wipe that smug smile off Gray’s face if it was the last thing he did.

He shifted again, prepared to push his chair back and lunge, when suddenly he felt a gentle hand cover his. He glanced over at Juvia who offered him a small smile. He felt her thumb brush against his skin as she turned back to face his siblings.

“Well, you’ll be proud to know that I’ve seen him cook an egg just fine now. Besides, Silver tells me you’re all quite allergic to the kitchen so I doubt he’s the only one with disaster stories.”

“Wow Lyon, gonna let her fight your battles for you?” Gray scoffed, and Lyon frowned, trying to think of an appropriate retort.

Juvia gave his hand a squeeze before jumping back into the fray on his behalf. “He doesn’t let me do anything. Perhaps you should catch up to the twenty-first century, where women have rights and minds of their own.”

“Ooo wow, look who’s got some claws. Better be careful, Gray, I don’t think she’s gonna pull punches.” Ultear cheered, grinning wickedly at Juvia, who’d locked eyes with Gray across the table.

Lyon leaned back in his chair, smirking at Gray. He knew that look, he’d seen it far too many times and it never spelled anything good for the person it was being directed at. He watched as Gray frowned, apparently caught off guard by Juvia’s sudden hostility. It was fun to watch him squirm for once.

Finally Gray let out a huff. “I wasn’t trying to imply that you needed his permission to speak. I was simply implying that Lyon ought to be capable of defending himself from some lighthearted teasing.”

“And I was simply protecting the dinner your father and I worked so hard to cook by keeping the peace. But if you want to keep egging him on with his kitchen failures then by all means continue. Just know that when dinner ends up on the floor because of the fight you’re set on instigating you’ll be the one cooking the replacement.” Gray paled slightly at Juvia’s final words and turned to look at Silver.

The older man was trying to suppress his laughter. “Don’t look at me for help, I’m not cooking dinner twice.”

Gray’s head whipped around to Ur next. “You’re not just going to let her threaten me like that are you?”

Ur smiled and glanced at Juvia before turning her attention back to Gray. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable for her to hold you accountable if you ruin dinner.”

“I haven’t done anything, it’s not me looking to leap over the table and start a fight! Why am I being singled out?”

“Because I politely ended the conversation and you took it and used it to further insult him.” Juvia countered, arms crossed under her breasts.

“So what? It’s hardly fair that I get punished just because he can’t control himself, and he get no punishment at all. That’s not fair, in what world does that make sense?”

“Uh, the real one, because life isn’t fair. If you go looking for a fight and you find one, most police aren’t gonna go arrest the guys that kicked your butt.”

“I wasn’t picking a fight with you!”

“I’m his partner, do you honestly expect me not to help him? Lyon’s told me all about the fights you used to get into backing up your friends, same thing applies. You’re just not used to him having an ally who fights with more than fists.”

Gray just stared at her for a moment, his mouth opening and closing, as he clearly tried to think of another arguement. Finally Ur interrupted the argument. “I think that’s enough bickering for one dinner.”

* * *

Lyon leaned back in his chair, letting the silverware clatter into the bowl he'd been eating from. He was feeling overly full, but otherwise satisfied. "That was amazing!"

"Mhmm, I have to admit I'm kinda jealous, you've found yourself quite the little chef." Ultear teased, "You must be eating like a king back at MTA, it's no wonder you never want to leave."

"I don't know… she can't be feeding him that much, after all he's managed to lose the freshman fifteen he must have packed on in first year. That and if he actually ate food like this all the time I'm sure he'd have packed on a few more pounds to top it off." Lyon glared at Gray. He'd worked hard over the years to maintain his figure, one that came naturally to Gray from days spent playing sports. It wasn't that Lyon didn't enjoy sports, or never played, he just preferred theater and song. He'd always worked hard to keep up with Gray though. The hours he spent training in the gym made sure that he was just as well muscled as any man. So it pissed him off that Gray would just assume that he would let all that drop during university.

"Actually, I managed to keep myself in shape just fine during first year and even though I definitely eat more now, I can assure you Juvia makes sure I burn all the extra calories afterwards." Lyon threw Gray a smug look as he watched the younger man choke on the bite of food he'd just eaten. Suddenly pain shot through his arm and he whipped his head to the side.

Juvia sat there, her cheeks stained red, and her arm was in position to smack him again. “Lyon! That is hardly appropriate dinner conversation!”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the mortified look on her face. He was spared from being hit again when Silver joined in, and soon everyone at the table was laughing save for Juvia and Gray, who had a deep scowl on his face and was glaring at Lyon.

Finally, Ur managed to reign in her laughter and reached over and placed a gentle hand on Juvia’s. “Don’t worry dear. We’ve had far worse said at the dinner table than that, I promise no one’s going to judge you.”

Lyon watched as Juvia’s shoulders lost their tension and she offered a shy smile to his mother. It always amazed him how his mom could put someone at ease with a look or touch, and just as easily put them in line moments later. She just had that way about her, and he’d missed her so much.

Ur pushed back her chair and stood up, grabbing her bowl and reaching to grab Juvia’s bowl as well. Juvia was up a moment later, having snatched her bowl before Ur could, and was now reaching for the bowl in his mother’s hand. “Please let me get it! You should be sitting and enjoying your time with your family.”

Ur was taken aback and Lyon took the moment to intercede. He stood up himself and placed a hand on Juvia’s shoulder. “She’s right mom, there’s no need for you to be the one to clean the table, you have plenty of kids here to do that for you. That being said,” Lyon turned his head to give Juvia a pointed look, “You are on vacation, and you’ve already cooked dinner so sit down and relax for a bit. I’ll handle the dishes.”

“But-”

“No buts, sit down.” Lyon pressed his hand down pushing her back down into her seat. Juvia complied, but she was pouting as he started to collect the bowls from his family members. He wanted to shake her and tell her to just chill but he knew it was just a matter of time and comfort. Pressuring her wasn’t going to help his cause.

“Whopish!” Lyon furrowed his brow and looked up. Gray repeated the sound and made a whipping motion with his hand, grinning at Lyon as he did.

Lyon simply rolled his eyes. “What are you, fifteen? Doing something nice for a lady goes alot farther than a couple of cheap drinks, Gray. But I guess you’d need to be able to keep a girl around longer than a night to know that.”

Ur sighed, “That’s enough, I think it’s sweet that you’re doing the dishes Lyon. It’s a very gentlemanly thing to do. Gray, you could learn to do the same from time to time.”

Gray simply grunted in response as Lyon started to move around the table, collecting the others bowls.

When he got to the other side of the table Gray held up his bowl. Lyon raised his eyebrow and snorted, causing Gray to stare up at him.

“You’re kidding right?”

“Seriously? You’re taking everyone else’s bowl, just take it.”

“Nah, you have two legs you can put your own bowl away.” Lyon spun on his heel before Gray could reply, and practically skipped into the kitchen.

* * *

Juvia watched as Lyon left the room, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride as he went. Specifically considering that he’d been ready to lunge at his brother over the table earlier. The fact that he wasn’t rising to the bait, and that he had seemed to find some confidence to fight back was good.

Well maybe not good per se, but she knew that Lyon struggled to feel like he had an edge on Gray. It was funny because for all that he seemed to act and pose as being superior to his step brother Lyon was surprisingly insecure underneath. Gray’s words seemed to have a way of cutting deeper than others. Not that he let it show, but she’d known him long enough to know what to look for. The small twitch of his eye, the tightened muscles on his back. She’d quickly learned to read him like a book, and it seemed like he had finally found a level of confidence that wasn’t being faked.

The fact that it seemed to come at the price of her modesty was something they would have to talk about later though.

“So I don’t suppose you want to take this into the kitchen for me?” Gray was holding the bowl out across the table and smiling at her. It was that same charming smile he’d offered her upstairs and she felt her heart beat in double time.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself, before schooling her features into her resting bitch face.

“Gray Fullbuster, you did not just ask our guest to clear your dish for you!” Ur scolded, rising from her seat yet again.

Gray shrugged, not moving his gaze from Juvia’s. It was a battle of wills and she was not about to lose. “Someone’s gotta do it.”

Ur looked furious but before she could reprimand him further Juvia decided to speak up. After all he seemed to feel it was important for someone to be able to defend themselves.

“Ur, please sit back down. I don’t mind clearing his plate for him.” Gray beamed at her and she leered back. “After all if he doesn’t want to clear his plate we can’t make him. But if he’s going to act like a child and leave his dirty dishes for his mom to clean up, then I guess he also doesn’t want dessert.”

Gray blinked at her, pulling his bowl back as she reached across the table to take it. His face darkened as her words finally seemed to register. “And what gives you the right to dictate what I can and can’t have in my own house?”

“Well she was the one who made it.” Silver offered with a chuckle.

Juvia felt it was odd that the man took so much amusement from his son being talked down to. Then again, given what they all found acceptable as conversation at the dinner table, and the way Gray and Lyon’s fighting was just brushed off, she guessed it was the kind of household where you were left to settle your own issues provided the house was left in one piece.

Which was fine with her, because she’d learned how to hold her own in a household full of unruly boys from Oaktown. Gray was child’s play in comparison.

“Your choice, act like an adult and go rinse you bowl and put it in the dishwasher, or behave like a child and get treated like one.”

Gray looked from her back to Silver, and the man shrugged. “Like she says, you’ve got a choice. In fact, I’ll put your bowl away if you don’t want to, just means more apple crumble for the rest of us.”

“Apple crumble?” Gray looked surprised. “You made apple crumble?”

Juvia shrugged, and tried to act nonchalant. “Well, Silver mentioned it was your favourite, and I brought something for everyone else, since Lyon told me what they’d enjoy. But it didn’t really seem fair to just leave you out, so yeah. I made apple crumble.”

Gray just stared at her, those dark eyes boring into hers as if trying to steal every secret from her soul. Still she held his gaze, unwilling to be the first to waver.

“Wow, so she goes out of her way to make you dessert and all you’ve done is manage to pick fights with her and Lyon. And then on top of that you just basically treated her like your personal maid. Way to show some gratitude Gray.” Ultear started a slow clap as she eyed her youngest brother, and Juvia could feel the disapproval radiating from his parents at either end of the table. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him, even if he had just been a total ass.

Before she could back down though, Gray dropped his gaze. “Tch.” He kissed his teeth as he slid from the table and headed towards the door to the kitchen bowl in hand. As he walked through the door his shoulder nudged against Lyon’s jolting the white haired man as he exited the kitchen.

As he walked into the room he looked about before looking directly at Juvia. She offered him a small shrug and a smile, causing him to break out into his own infectious grin. He made his way around the table, and wrapped his arms tight around her waist. His hot breath kissed the shell of her ear as he whispered to her.

“See, I told you you’d fit right in.”


	3. A Midnight Snack and a Late Night Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia struggles to get some sleep and Gray tries a different approach.

* * *

Juvia peaked out into the hallway, checking that the door beside the bathroom was closed. Once she’d confirmed that it was, she stepped out into the hall and darted back to Lyon’s room.

Gray had been quiet and broody since the dessert standoff, choosing to take off and lock himself in his room upstairs once he’d had his share of the apple crumble. Ultear and Ur had assured her that’s just the way he was, but she couldn’t help but feel like he was trying to avoid her. Of course, Lyon was thrilled about his absence and had enjoyed the evening just fine.

As she slipped back into the room she closed the door gently behind her before turning around. When she did, her heart nearly leapt from her throat.

Lyon was laying on the bed, with his right arm stretched under his head, and the other hand holding a book aloft as he read. But that wasn’t the shocking part. He was topless. Loose plaid pajama pants covered his hips and legs, but his toned arms and washboard abs were out on display.

She swallowed hard and tried to force her brain to function past ‘oh my god, smoking hot man in my bed’. Sure, she’d seen him topless before, but it was hard to ignore the fact that he was drop-dead model gorgeous. It’s not like she had guys like him lining up at her door, so she’d be lying if she didn’t say that the sight was…. something she allowed herself to enjoy, perhaps a bit more that she ought to.

She took a breath, closed her eyes, and called up the image of fluffy white kittens in her mind. Cute, adorable little kittens. Innocent little kittens.

Finally, feeling like she had some-sense of self control back, she opened her eyes yet again to find Lyon smirking at her.

“What?” she snapped, wondering just how long he’d been watching her.

“Cute PJ’s”

She frowned at him and planted her hands on her hips. There was nothing wrong with her pajamas. Her t-shirt was dark blue, with tiny little droplets on them and clouds, and the pajama pants matched. She wore the pants loose around her hips. “At least I’m wearing mine, I think you’re missing a top.”

Lyon laughed in response. “What? Can’t handle the view? Is it too glorious for you?”

Juvia rolled her eyes and tried hard not to laugh.

Lyon hopped up from the bed and made his way over to her with a sleazy smile. “If you want, you can touch them. I promise they won’t burn you.”

Juvia couldn’t help it anymore and burst into laughter. He was such a goofball sometimes, and she loved it. It made it a lot easier for her to forget just how attractive he was. 

She got the feeling that’s exactly why he pulled out all of the over the top lines. Surely he didn’t think anyone would fall for them.

He reached out and grabbed her hand and she playfully struggled as he halfheartedly tried to get her to touch his abs. Neither of them were really trying, both too distracted with giggling. Finally, he gave up and flopped back onto his bed, his legs hanging off, again offering her an excellent view of his muscles. Juvia went to sit down beside him but hesitated, realizing there wasn’t all that much space on the bed. It was only a double and he was planted right in the middle of it.

It was like they were telepathic, because the moment he looked at her he moved over, patting the newly freed space beside him. Juvia hesitated yet again and Lyon raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re okay with sharing a bed right? I mean, I just figured you wouldn’t care, but if you’re not I can go grab the air mattress and-”

“It’s fine,” she interjected, stopping him before he could get much further. After all he’d already implied that they were sleeping together, in a far more intimate sense, and it would just be odd for him to suddenly need to sleep on the floor. Besides, it wasn’t like she hadn’t slept next to a guy before. Hell, she’d slept next to Gajeel and their relationship was as platonic as it got.

Still, a small part of her was buzzing at the thought of sleeping next to him, especially if he was going to be topless. She repressed a sigh, and decided that it was her dry spell talking and that as soon as they were back in Magaret Town she was going out clubbing. Self respect be damned, she was putting an end to it, Lord knows after these next two weeks she’d need it.

Lyon sat up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him and resting his head on her shoulder. She could feel his body heat through the soft cotton top she was wearing and she let out a sigh before relaxing into the embrace and resting her head against his.

“You sure? Because you seem a bit uncomfortable with the idea. But I think I know what the issue is, and I can assure you, I don’t snore.”

Juvia snorted and shoved him away from her. “You know people who say that are lying.”

Lyon grabbed her and dragged her down onto the bed with his right arm, leaving his left hand free. His fingers dancing along her sides causing her to squirm and flail as the uncomfortable tingling sensation ran from her sides, up and along her spine. “Is that so? You calling me a liar? Hmm, Ms. Lockser, is that what you are implying?”

“No! No I’m not I swear!” she wheezed, desperate for the torture to stop. “Please, I’m sorry! You don’t snore, you don’t snore!”

He laughed and finally released her, grinning like a little kid. “That’s better, just remember that in the morning when I ask.”

Juvia nodded profusely signalling her agreement, even if she was certain she’d be lying to him. Lyon quickly crawled up to the top of the bed and slipped in under the covers. “Get the light for me? Please?”

Juvia rolled her eyes. “Well I guess you and your brother share at least one thing in common.” She muttered as she made her way to the door and flicked off the light.

“What was that?” He called as she tried to navigate her way back to her side of the bed.

“Nothing, just saying that this would have been easier if you’d turned on the bedside lamp. Unlike you I didn’t grow up in this room and can’t navigate it in the dark.” she grumbled as she felt her toes bump up against the end of the bed. She sent a silent prayer out to the person who decided she deserved at least enough good karma not to have stubbed said toes instead.

“Oh it’s not that dark, there’s some light from the window.”

“That doesn’t help with seeing the floor.” she announced as she climbed onto the bed, deciding it was a safer bet just to crawl across it than try and make her way around.

“Hehe, you know, we kinda sound just like an old married couple.”

As Juvia finally reached the top of the bed she turned to look at him. “Yeah, we kinda do, don’t we?” With that she crawled under the covers, and in an act of revenge planted her cold feet right under his legs, and placed her hands against his chest. She felt him jolt, but her position against him prevented him from getting too far.

“Geez woman, your feet are freezing! Put some socks on!”

“Nah, that’s what I have you for right? Besides maybe next time you’ll turn off your own light.”

She felt Lyon grumble before he shoved her towards her side of the bed. Obediently she rolled over, figuring he’d want space. Instead he surprised her by wrapping his legs around hers to warm her feet and draped an arm about her waist. Finally he nuzzled his face into her shoulder. “Night Juvia. Sweet dreams.”

“You too, Lyon.”

* * *

While sweet dreams were a thoughtful sentiment, Juvia found the actual act itself was a whole other story. While Lyon seemed to have drifted into sleep effortlessly, Juvia found herself wide awake and staring at the wall as his light snoring sounded right next to her ear.

She’d been trying and failing to sleep for what must have been at least an hour, and by this point she was just getting annoyed and frustrated. Sleep wasn’t going to happen while being serenaded by Lyon’s breathing and trapped up against his body. What she needed was a nice cup of herbal tea, chamomile or mint, maybe even lavender. Something to sooth her quickly fraying nerves. Carefully, she started to untangle her limbs from his until, about halfway through he shifted and Juvia stilled, worried that she’d woken him, only to have him turn the other way, freeing her completely.

She quietly slipped from the bed and carefully padded her way to the door, inching her feet along the wooden floor. Thankfully the moon was high enough now that she could see some of the outlines and managed to make it to the door without incident. She carefully twisted the knob and slipped out into the hallway. A light was clearly on in the downstairs hall, illuminating the stairs, the hall, and landing for her. Carefully she closed the door behind her, and peered around. All of the other bedroom doors were shut and there were no noises to be heard so she figured they probably just left the light on downstairs should someone need to get a drink or a late night snack.

The stairs creaked softly underfoot as she eased her way down them, before breathing a sigh of relief when she made it to the main floor. She turned to the right and noticed it wasn’t actually the hallway light that was on as she’d thought, but instead they were lights from the kitchen.

She quietly made her way down the hall, hoping beyond all hope that it was Silver up concocting some late night snack, or perhaps even Ultear maybe having a last glass of wine before bed.

Life, however, was not that kind. Instead she found Gray, topless yet again, perched at the kitchen island with a plate of apple crumble covered with half-melted vanilla ice cream. The smell of cinnamon and spice wafted through the air and she found herself desiring a second slice of dessert as well.

Deciding that she wasn’t in the mood for a heaping dose of Mr. Moody, Juvia was about to turn around and head back upstairs when Gray looked up from his food and caught her standing in the kitchen entrance way.

He stared at her, mouth hanging open as if he were about to shovel another forkfull of food into it. Silence stretched between them before Juvia decided she was far too tired to force his hand or keep him in line.

She let out a sigh before breaking eye contact, choosing instead to study the patterned tiling of the floor as she spoke. “Sorry, I was just having some trouble sleeping and was gonna make myself a tea. I didn’t know anyone was still up….”

As she let her words trail off between them she shifted and started to turn.

“It’s cool. You can stay, I’ll boil the water for you.” Juvia whipped her head up to stare at him as he slipped from the bar stool and walked across the kitchen, grabbing the kettle from the corner and bringing it to the sink to fill with water.

While waiting, he turned back to her, his usual scowl replaced with a softer look, and she watched as he shifted as she frowned at him.

“You don’t have to be nice to me you know. If you don’t want me to stay you can just say so. I won’t be offended,” she announced, figuring his mother had had a less than pleasant conversation with him in private at some point. Or perhaps Silver had, the man certainly seemed to take a liking to her, though she really couldn’t understand exactly why. A part of her had to ask if it was just wishful thinking, or just her trying to project her own feelings onto the man.

Gray’s sigh drew her attention, as he placed the kettle back on the stand and flicked the switch on to heat the water. “I said it’s cool, I meant it. I wanted to talk to you anyways.”

Juvia raised an eyebrow at him and leaned against the doorframe crossing her arms against her chest. It was the stance she always adopted when she felt as though she was about to hear something she probably didn’t want to.

“About?” she prompted, and noticed the way his cheeks colored.

He turned to face her squaring his shoulders, holding himself up to his full height. Juvia silently drew in a breath. It wasn’t fair that this family had such gorgeous genetics. Two weeks with them might just give her a serious complex, specifically when both young men seemed determined to keep their clothes off.

“About the way I was acting earlier, I-”

Juvia held up a hand to silence him and fixed him with a hard stare. “I just told you, you don’t have to be nice to me. If your parents put you up to it, just tell them we talked and it’s cool.”

Gray frowned at her, his own gaze hardening as well. “They didn’t say anything to me, I’ve been in my room all night. Even if they had, I’m still capable of realizing when I’m wrong and when an apology is due, so save the attitude and hear me out. Unless you’d rather just be pissed off at me? If that’s the case then you’re welcome to go.”

Juvia felt her own expression falter and she sighed, letting the tension out of her body, and forced herself to walk further into the kitchen. She eyed him as she did, and watched as his own body relaxed as she approached.

He waited until she had seated herself at the island before speaking again. “What kind of tea would you like?”

“Umm mint or chamomile; whatever you have that’s herbal really.”

“We have both.”

Juvia shrugged. “Surprise me.”

Gray smiled then, not the smirk he used when he made a dig at Lyon, not the grin he’d worn when he’d used his towel to dry the floor, just a genuine, kind looking smile. Juvia could feel her pulse skyrocket.

He turned and plucked a tea bag from the cupboard above the counter and placed it in the mug, filling it with water before bringing it to her and taking the seat next to her. She took it gratefully and proceeded to focus on blowing into the mug in order to avoid staring at the generous view of muscles beside her.

“Anyways, as I was saying, look.” Out of the corner of her eye Juvia noticed his hand raise to scratch the back of his head. “I’m really sorry for the way I acted at dinner, and the things I said. Especially the bowl thing, you were right I was just being childish. Same with earlier, when we met in the hall.”

Juvia turned to glance at him, and noticed he was focused on the countertop, and his cheeks had a vibrant blush coating them.

“I think Lyon and I just have a tendency to bring that out in each other, I don’t even know why. I actually wanted to try and move past it but…. Well, either way, it’s not fair for me to be rude to you just because you’re with him. And umm, it was really sweet of you to go out of your way to bake me apple crumble, specifically after the way we met.”

Juvia sat staring at him for a minute, her mind trying to reconcile the person sitting beside her with the man she’d met earlier. It was astonishing how different his behavior was. Then again, Lyon’s behavior changed around Gray as well. He acted arrogant and demanding, something she'd never seen from him before. It seemed like both of them just brought out the worst in each other.

Juvia reached out a hand and laid it on Gray’s shoulder, and tried to ignore the feel of his muscles flexing beneath her fingertips. He turned to face her, his knees brushing up against her own.

She quickly shifted her eyes from the mug in front of her up to his, and offered him a small smile. “It’s okay. I appreciate the apology, and I’m sorry for jumping into your arguments with your brother. I can understand how that could get your back up. How about we just call it even and try starting over?”

Gray smiled back, before holding up his hand. “Sounds great. Hi, I’m Gray.”

Juvia giggled and placed her hand in his, gripping it firmly as they shook. “Juvia.”

“Nice to meet you”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”


	4. You Drive Me Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyon and Juvia make plans for the day, only to have Gray end up tagging along.

* * *

When Lyon woke, it was to an empty bed. While a part of him had expected it, a part of him felt Juvia’s absence on a personal level. It had been a while since he’d fallen asleep with someone in his arms, and he’d enjoyed the feeling of it.

With a sigh he slowly got out of bed, grabbing a t-shirt from the floor and throwing it on before making his way downstairs to find her, and hopefully get a cup of coffee while he was at it.

He wasn’t even halfway down the steps when the smell of bacon hit him and he grinned broadly as he bounded down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen. 

The sizzle of bacon hitting the pan met his ears, and he was greeted by the sight of Juvia standing next to Silver, in their pajamas and matching set of baby blue snowflake aprons. Ur was seated at the far end of the island, clutching an oversized mug in her hands as she watched the two work. As he entered the kitchen, Juvia looked up from the bowl she was mixing and smiled brightly.

“Morning sleepyhead! Coffee is recently made and ready for your consumption.” 

Lyon grinned back and circled the kitchen island to make his way to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind as she continued to mix the batter in front of her. 

“Mmm, you look adorable.” he announced placing a small peck on her cheek and enjoying the blush that made its way to her cheeks. 

“Uh huh, you’re just saying that because you’re getting coffee and breakfast this morning.” 

Lyon chuckled and shrugged, releasing her to go get his much needed morning cup of caffeine. “What can I say, it’s nice not having to get up at the crack of dawn in order to enjoy you making me crepes.”

“I’m sure it is, although I can’t imagine you getting up at the crack of dawn for anything.” Ur chimed, and Lyon turn to face her leaning back against the counter. 

He took a moment to enjoy the rich aroma of the dark roast he’d grown up with. He’d yet to find anything similar in Margaret town, and so he savoured the moment as he took his first sip. 

“I usually don’t, but Juvia’s an early riser and if there’s ever a reason to get up before the sun it’s her cooking.” 

“Not that he actually manages to wake up for it. The only times I’ve cooked him breakfast was after he pulled an all nighter.” 

Ur’s laughter rang out in response, and Silver turned to smirk at Lyon. “Haha, I think you might be in trouble, she doesn’t just take empty flattery.”

Lyon shrugged “No she doesn’t, but it’s okay. There’s plenty of real things for me to praise her for so I rarely have to lay it on.”

Juvia smiled at him brightly. “Not that it stops you.”

“Nope, I like it when you get all sassy; reminds me that you’re actually human. Otherwise I’d have no choice but to believe I’d died and gone to heaven to date such an angel.” 

Juvia just rolled her eyes, and his parents both burst into laughter. Silver shook his head and clapped the girl on her back. “You poor girl, do you have to listen to that ridiculous crap all the time?” 

“Pretty much, but it’s okay, I’ve gotten used to his antics.”

“Well just so we’re clear, he gets none of that from me. You can blame Ur for it.” Silver told her before throwing a quick grin at his partner. 

Ur just shook her head. “Oh yeah, clearly that’s all me.” 

Silver chuckled and turned to Lyon. “Well breakfast is gonna be ready soon. You better let Gray and Ultear know, I doubt they’d want to sleep through it.” 

Lyon grimaced, grabbing a large mug from the cupboard before filling it with coffee. “Sure, give me the dangerous job.”

Silver just laughed. “It’s you or your mom. You can fight her for it if you want, but I think you stand a better chance with a grumpy Ultear. Unless of course you’re trying to suggest that you’d rather send this precious angel beside me to her unsuspecting doom?”

Lyon shook his head and trudged back up the stairs, second cup of coffee in hand. Once he reached the top he turned to the left and made his way to his sister’s door at the end of the hall. 

He braced himself as he knocked, praying she was at least awake. Lyon may not have been the morning person that Juvia was, but growing up in a household full of people he’d been tempered into being amiable upon waking. The same could not be said for Ultear, who took interruptions to her sleep the same way he took criticisms from Gray. 

He heard a soft shuffling but the lack of response didn’t bode well and so he knocked again, this time with an offering of peace. “Sorry to wake you Tear, but breakfast is almost ready. I brought you coffee.” 

This time he heard a groan and creaking. A moment later the door flung open to reveal his sister, with her tangled black hair and bleary eyed look. A rumpled tank top and panties was all she was wearing and Lyon briefly wondered what it was about this house that had all of them ignoring their usual sense of modesty. 

The grunt and glare he received from her was enough to remind him of his offer, and he quickly held out the cup of black coffee.

She grabbed it from him, taking a sip before fixing him with a cold look. “How long?”

Lyon blinked, caught off guard by the question and the lack of violence. “Uh, um, probably about five, maybe ten minutes.”

Ultear nodded, “Kay, I’ll be down.” And with that she shut the door in his face.

Having survived the difficult part Lyon was left grinning maniacally as he made his way just down the hall. The next wake up call was going to be fun.

As soon as he reached Gray’s door he pounded on it heavily, “Oi! Breakfast is ready, get your ass out of bed or miss it! And make sure to put clothes on!”

Hearing the telltale string of obscenities as his answer, Lyon considered his job done and pranced back down the stairs.

* * *

Breakfast with Lyon’s family was very different from what Juvia had expected. It had been a surprisingly loud affair considering the fact that most of the family had just woken up, and seemed to require a pot of coffee each in order to function. 

Gray had come down in nothing but a pair of boxers and while some part of her felt like it had just been to spite Lyon for the abrupt wake up call, she had to wonder how often an occurrence it was if his family had started feeling the need to offer him reminders. 

Either way, it had led to yet another bickering match, and at one point Lyon had actually reached over and covered her eyes. It had ended up backfiring when Gray had implied it was because Lyon knew he was more attractive and didn’t want her realizing she could upgrade. From there it had escalated quickly, only to end with Ultear snapping at the two of them stating she wasn’t in the mood for such ruckus. 

All in all it had been an eventful morning, and Juvia was hit with a wave of nostalgia. It was far too reminiscent of mornings in Oaktown. Of course those morning fights almost always ended with her needing to separate some sort of fist fight, so she felt as though Gray and Lyon were actually doing pretty well. 

The thing she had to say she enjoyed the most was Ur and Silver’s commentary throughout. Neither seemed overly concerned with their children’s antics and Silver seemed to find it outright hilarious at times. They were really special people. They loved their children dearly and seemed happy to dote on her as well. By the end of it all Juvia honestly was starting to believe they might just consider her a part of their family. It stirred all too familiar feelings from her childhood, and she quickly shoved them away. She was here for Lyon, that's it.

Once breakfast was finished Lyon had bounded back upstairs to go get ready, stating that they were going out shopping as he still had some last minute things he needed to get. Juvia had no doubt it wasn’t just ‘some things’, and that she was being recruited to help him with his Christmas shopping, but she didn’t really mind. It would be nice to get out of the house, a little fresh air and some walking would be good. 

They were currently seated in the living room with Ultear curled up on the couch nursing her fourth cup of coffee that morning, with Juvia seated on the loveseat, focused on her current crochet project and Gray had himself slung over both ends of the lazy boy chair, and was currently flipping through channels. Lyon had been upstairs for over an hour, and Juvia figured it wouldn't be long now before they'd head out.

The comfortable silence was broken when Ultear turned to Juvia with a question, “Hey Juvia, since you and Lyon are going shopping I don’t suppose you’re willing to do me a favour and take Gray with you?” 

At the mention of his name Gray’s head shot up and he glared straight at his sister. “What the fuck, Tear! No way in hell am I going with them!”

Ultear sighed and gave Gray the most unimpressed look. “Uh, why not? You need to do your Christmas shopping, they’re going to the mall. Simple solution, you go with them.”

“Cause Lyon is an ass, and is more likely to run me over then let me set foot in his precious car. Besides, you already promised you’d take me.” 

“Yeah, that was before you had other options. And really it’s a car ride, nobody’s saying you gotta shop together, I’m sure you two can survive the ten minute drive to Cedarpoint Mall. Juvia will make sure you get there alive, won’t you?” Ultear asked, before mouthing ‘please say yes’ and giving Juvia a pathetic look. 

Juvia sighed. She was certain Lyon would kill her for saying yes, but it made absolutely no sense for Ultear to drive Gray to the mall and have to deal with crazy last minute shopping drivers when Juvia and Lyon were already going to be out. 

“It’s really no additional trouble for us to take you to the mall. I’m sure I can get Lyon to get over himself long enough to agree, and since I’m going to be with him I can make sure he doesn’t leave you stranded there either.” Juvia offered with a little smirk.

Ultear chuckled and turned her head back in Gray’s direction. “There you go, a ride there and back. Heck with Juvia in the car you can pretty much just ignore Lyon all together; you might even enjoy it.” 

Gray snorted and locked his gaze with Juvia’s. “I think you’re overestimating your abilities, it would take a miracle to get Lyon to drive me anywhere. In fact I’m pretty sure even a medical emergency wouldn’t justify me getting in his car in his eyes. But hey, knock yourself out.”

* * *

Gray’s miracle had come in the form of a fifteen minute argument in Lyon’s bedroom that ended when Juvia pointed out that not only had he not been home in over two years, but he’d also blown Ultear and Ur off the last few times they’d come to visit. Thus a simple favour like driving someone to a place they were already going was the least he could do to make amends. 

The look on Gray’s face when she came down the steps and told him he better hurry up and get ready was priceless, and he’d quickly jumped from the chair and bounded up the stairs two at a time. 

Ultear simply stared at her in astonishment for a moment before she was properly able to speak. “I don’t know if you’re a sorceress or a saint, but you definitely just performed magic.”

Juvia giggled, “It’s just experience, I had a horde of boys to keep in line back in Oaktown. I just learned to be resourceful... and fight dirty.” added a winked to punctuate her last sentence and Ultear smiled in return.

“You’ll have to teach me some of your tricks then. We can trade, I’ll pull out the embarrassing baby photo’s and you can spill the dirt on Lyon’s college life.”

“Neither of you will be doing any such thing!” Lyon announced as he stomped into the room. “Where’s Gray? I told you I’m not waiting for him, either he’s ready to go or he’s not coming.” 

Juvia was about to roll her eyes but the sound of feet pounding down the stairs had her smiling. 

“I’m right here, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Gray snapped as he rushed from the stairs to the closet door, quickly pulling out a long white trench coat. Lyon huffed before grabbing his own coat, along with Juvia’s and holding it out for her. 

Juvia sighed before giving Ultear one more meaningful look as she placed her crochet to the side and hopped up to retrieve her coat. “Wish me luck!” 

Ultear laughed, “Like you need it. Have fun boys! Remember to bring her back in one piece.”

Lyon rolled his eyes at the comment and waited for Juvia to finish putting her coat and boots on. He then proceeded to wrench the door open, motioning for Juvia to exit. As Juvia walked out into the brisk cold, still buttoning up her coat, Gray moved to follow her only to have Lyon storm right in front of him, and stomp his way to the car.

Juvia let out a sigh and offered Gray a sympathetic look before following Lyon and climbing into the passenger seat. She watched as Gray quickly closed the door and made his way to the car.

* * *

The atmosphere in the car was heavy, and despite the peppy Christmas music pouring from the radio, Lyon was frowning and tight lipped. 

Juvia found herself glancing back at Gray through the rear view mirror. He seemed unperturbed by Lyon's sullen attitude and was instead staring out the window a small smile on his face as his fingers drummed against the armrest in time to the music. 

Juvia envied him a little. Christmas music had never done much to brighten her mood, or fill her with holiday cheer. The whole holiday season felt fake to her, and left a bitter taste in her mouth. But she'd mastered the season’s social dance of bright smiles, overly cheerful greetings and false generosity that most of the world put on. Still, she could tell when someone genuinely seemed to embody the joyous spirit, and didn't have it in herself to rob them of it. After all, her past wasn't their fault. 

Deciding that trying to engage Lyon while he was in his mood wasn't a good idea, Juvia turned so she could glance back over her seat a little more comfortably. 

"So, I take it you left your Christmas shopping 'til the last minute?" Gray perked up a bit at her question and turned to face her as he scratched the back of his head. A sheepish smile making its way to his lips.

"Yeah, I kinda have a bad habit of that. This is actually me being proactive." 

Juvia giggled and chose to ignore Lyon's grunt of response.

"Ah, systematic procrastinator then?"

"Not usually. I'm actually pretty big on planning things out, but gift giving is stupidly difficult; plus I hate shopping. So I just find myself putting it off until the last minute, then rush around trying to find something and end up settling on gift cards," Gray confessed. "That's kinda why I wanted Ultear to take me to the mall, I figured I could con her into helping me shop."

Lyon scoffed and Juvia could see the sneer on his face from the corner of her eye. She braced herself, sensing she was about to be caught in the middle of yet another stupid fight. 

"You're unbelievable. They've been your family for twelve years. You'd think you'd at least be able to figure out gifts for them on your own. Or at least have the decency to go shopping before now." Lyon paused his lecture and the tires screeched as he made a sudden right hand turn into the parking lot. Juvia and Gray were both roughly jolted to the left.

"Jesus Lyon, are you trying to kill us?" 

"Us? No. You on the other hand, gladly; if it wouldn't cost me my car. Besides you don't get to complain about my driving when you don't even have a car. Which is really selfish by the way, you live up north, it snows for half the year but you still insist on keeping your stupid motorcycle-"

Juvia couldn't contain her sudden excitement, and accidentally found herself interrupting Lyon's rant. "You have a bike?"

She was sure her eyes were wide and she must have had the goofiest grin on her face. 

"Yep!" Gray chimed back, grinning right back at her, his face suddenly becoming animated.

"Seriously!? Juvia you are not helping!" Lyon snapped, turning to face her with a glare. The car came to an abrupt halt.

"How about you stop bitching about my lack of car and focus on actually parking your own?" Gray spat, drawing Lyon's frustration back to its original source. 

"How about you stop being a back seat driver? And just how many times have you made Tear or mom come all the way down to Magnolia just to bring your ass home? Hmm?" 

Lyon was gripping the steering wheel tight and glaring at the car pulling out from the parking space in front of them, his index finger tapping impatiently.

“First off I never make them do anything. You of all people should know that they do what they want. And secondly, in the two years I’ve been going there they’ve only ever come to get me once.”

“Uh huh, sure that’s really believable. How the hell did you get home then?” 

The car sped forward and turned sharply into the now empty spot, lurching to a stop inches from the car on the other side. Juvia’s head smacked against the headrest and it took her a moment to reorient herself. The first thing she did was shoot Lyon a scathing glare, not that he noticed, as he was too busy glaring at his seatbelt as he struggled to unbuckle it.

She then glanced back to Gray, wondering if he’d been jolted enough to get hurt as well.

He was pushed back against the seat, eyes shut tight and jaw clenched. His right hand was gripping the armrest so tight his knuckles were white, and his chest was heaving slowly.

Finally he opened his eyes, and glared daggers at the back of Lyon’s head. 

Freeing himself from his seat belt Lyon all but leapt from the car, slamming the door shut behind him. Gray was quick to follow, and the car trembled with the force he used to slam the door. Juvia flinched before hurrying out after them. With the way Gray looked she was almost certain he was about to beat the crap out of Lyon; not that she could blame him, even she had to admit she was starting to get pissed off with Lyon’s high and mighty attitude. 

Lyon had already started storming towards the mall, but Gray grabbed his arm, twisting him around, and got right in his face.

“You want to know how I got home? I got a ride with Natsu and his girlfriend! Sometimes I get a ride from Erza. Hell one of Ultear’s coworkers Jellal, happens to have a thing for Erza, so he’ll often give me a ride back! There’s also Cana, Loke and the Strauss siblings. So yeah, it is believable; in fact I get rides home all the time.” Gray had been poking Lyon in the chest as he announced the names of the people who brought him home, and Juvia watched as Lyon’s face twisted with rage. 

He was visibly shaking, and she picked up her pace knowing any restraint he had was moments from snapping. 

“What’s unbelievable is you! Two years since we’ve graduated and you haven’t come back home once despite having your own car. Never mind that you don’t even make yourself available for Ur, or Ultear to visit you. You keep bailing or making plans with friends instead. You’ve basically cut yourself off from the whole family, but here you are lecturing me about being a crappy son! What about you Lyon? What’s your excuse?”

“Gray that’s enough,” she announced, arriving at his side and forcing her way between the two. Her tone was cold and harsh, and she was certain her features were schooled with the bitchiest look she could muster. As much as she wanted to let Gray continue tearing strips off Lyon for being such an insufferable ass, she definitely wasn’t in the mood for the brawl that would follow. That and there were already random strangers staring at them, and a few parents glaring in their direction as they ushered their children away. 

No, a fight right now would likely just result in mall security coming and kicking them out before they even got in the mall.

She took a deep breath and placed a gentle hand on Lyon’s chest. She took another deep breath before looking him in the eye, forcing herself to soften the look. 

“You need to calm down, you’re being way too hostile for something as simple as giving someone a ride when you don’t want to.” Lyon’s frown deepened and he tried to avert his gaze but Juvia grabbed his chin with her free hand and forced his head back up. “You’re also taking your frustrations out on the wrong person. Gray had nothing to do with me coming and asking you to give him a ride and you know it.”

Lyon yet again looked away from her, this time averting only his eyes, however with that glance away the tension that had been strung through his body released, and his whole stance sagged. She continued to keep her eyes on his, knowing he could still feel her gaze weighing heavy on him. 

Silence reigned between them, and she could still feel the frustration radiating from Gray, but even that anger seemed to have subsided a little now that he’d snapped and Lyon no longer seemed as eager to fight. It was a good sign, and she felt a little more confident in her ability to diffuse the situation properly. 

Squaring her shoulders and straightening her stance, she took a small breath and steeled herself. “If you want to get pissed and pick a fight with someone then let’s have at it. Or do you want to wait until we get home and have a go at Ultear instead?” Lyon’s gaze snapped up to look at her and she could literally see him pale a bit.

“Not so appealing huh?” She pulled back just a bit and felt her back bump against Gray’s chest momentarily. He pulled back an instant later, leaving her sad over the loss of contact. 

Lyon just shook his head and swallowed. His hand found its way to his locks and he tugged at his hair in frustration. “Sorry.” It was barely a murmur, but she heard it and had no doubt that Gray could as well.

“I’m not the only one you owe an apology to, though you definitely gave my head a good smack with that parking job. Next time you’re in a snit like that you are NOT driving, you’re insanely reckless.”

“Shit! You’re hurt?” Lyon’s whole demeanor changed as he reached out and threaded his fingers gently through her hair. He’d stepped closer in the process and she could practically feel her breath bouncing off his chest. She winced and hissed when his fingers brushed against the place her head had hit the headrest. “Crap, I am so, so sorry!”

Juvia rolled her eyes and pushed lightly against his chest forcing him to step back from her. “It’s fine, I’m fine. It’s just a little bump, that I’m sure will heal up in a few hours. Now stop fussing, you’re just stalling.”

Lyon huffed, arms crossing over his chest before he glanced up at Gray. “Sorry.”

“Yeah wh-” 

Juvia held up her hand, effectively silencing Gray’s response. “Sorry for?”

Lyon gave her an incredulous look. “You’re kidding right? What am I, ten?”

“You’ve certainly been acting like it.”

Her arms were crossed, and she held his gaze expectantly. The strangled noise of protest he made did little to sway her, and she simply started tapping her foot in response.

“Ugh, fine. Sorry for being snappy with you.”

“And?”

“Juvia...”

“And...”

“And for taking my anger out on you.” Juvia rolled her hand, signalling for him to continue. “And for my driving…. And for existing! What Juvia? What else am I apologizing for!” 

“You accused him of being inconsiderate for having not done his Christmas shopping and for trying to drag Ultear out to go shopping with him, but considering we’re here and I didn’t see any gifts in your suitcase I’m guessing that was a pretty hypocritical accusation.”

Lyon was stuck just staring at her blankly, his face contorted in displeasure.

“You’re fucking kidding right? You were ragging on me when you haven’t done your shopping either? And you were gonna drag your girlfriend out to do it for you?” Gray hollered from over her shoulder.

“Of course not! It’s done, I just have to get a couple more things!” Lyon’s eyes shifted away from them and his whole body tensed right back up. 

Juvia sighed not liking the back peddling that was happening and decided to try a different approach. “So we’re not going shopping for your family?”

“No, we’re not. I already said I just needed a few things before we left.” Lyon muttered, but Juvia caught sight of him biting just ever so slightly on his bottom lip. 

“Okay, well then I guess if you don’t need gift suggestions you won’t mind if I tell Gray my gift ideas right?” 

She watched as Lyon’s face twitched just slightly before schooling itself into a blank mask. “You don’t need to help him with his shopping, you know that right?”

“I know I don’t have to, but I don’t see why I shouldn’t. I think they’re pretty good ideas and it would be a shame to waste them, especially if someone else can use them.” 

“But, I mean, wouldn’t you rather use them yourself? You were really worried none of them would like the gifts you bought them on our way here. You could easily just add your new ideas.”

“Lyon, I adore your family but I really don’t have that kind of money. Besides, after getting to know them all a bit more I’m pretty sure that my gifts are acceptable.”

“Wait, you got us gifts?” Gray’s question cut through their argument and caused both Lyon and Juvia to turn and look at him. He was staring at her wide eyed.

“Of course.” 

“All of us? Like even me?” 

“Yes all of you, but don’t worry it’s just small gifts you don’t need to get me anything.” she reply dismissively. The fact that Lyon hadn’t told them she was coming meant they had no chance to prepare and shop for her, and it was just unreasonable for her to expect anything last minute. A part of her felt a little frustrated with Lyon for not considering that but she shoved the thought away. Even if he had told them, they didn’t know her. This way at least she knew what to expect.

“But you went out and got us all gifts.” Gray reiterated with a frown. He seemed genuinely distraught about the whole thing and it made her feel incredibly self conscious. 

“I swear, I just felt like I was intruding and didn’t want to seem ungrateful or disrespectful. I mean Christmas is about family and I'm just grateful you're all okay with me being here.” 

She didn’t know why the thought of Gray buying her a gift sent her heart racing, but it did. In fact, the idea that anyone might get her a gift was oddly thrilling, but it also made her realize that she may now have forced their hands into feeling obligated. Her stomach twisted and she fought to keep her newfound distress buried. 

Gray scratched the back of his head and gave her an oddly assessing look, eyeing her up and down for a moment. She felt like he was looking for something, only she couldn’t imagine what, or why. “If you say so…” 

“I do! I swear, no gift needed. I’m just happy to be here.” Her heart was racing, and only slowed once Gray gave a curt nod. 

“So these gift ideas of yours….” 

“Figure out your own gifts Gray! Juvia’s barely had a day with our family, you can’t just go relying on her to fix your problems.” Lyon looked oddly desperate and his voice was strained. Juvia decided it was time to ease up.

“I said I don’t mind Lyon. And there’s no reason for me not to. Not unless you need gift ideas, which you don’t right?” She looked back at him, forcing herself to look as innocent and believing as possible. Not that Lyon couldn’t see right through it. She watched as his eyes narrowed, but she maintained her unassuming air. She wasn’t about to tip Gray off that she was going out of her way to take his side. It was one thing to do him a favour to make up for Lyon’s behavior but she didn’t want it to become an expectation. 

Lyon was caught and she watched as he struggled. Unable to agree to let her help his step brother but also unwilling to admit he’d just been caught in a lie. Most importantly, he was surely unwilling to let her gift ideas go to someone else when he clearly needed them as well. Finally Juvia took pity on the man.

She offered him a small smirk. “Of course, if you both need gift ideas I have a few so it’s not like you’ve got to fight over them.” 

“You do?” He looked so relieved, then all at once he scowled at her, realizing he’d pretty much just given himself away. From behind, Gray’s laughter pealed through the air. He was clearly more amused at Lyon’s distress than he was upset about the lie. 

“You’re such a hypocrite. Good thing Juvia’s around to save your ass, I don’t think you’d have survived uni without her.” Gray’s words held a bit of bite to them but the harsh edge was gone. 

Still, Lyon’s reaction surprised her. “Yeah, on that, I’ll admit you’re right. I definitely owe her more than a few favours. Everlasting gratitude probably wouldn’t cut it.”

Gray choked. “Did you just agree with me?” 

Lyon simply shrugged and looked down at Juvia affectionately. His hand reached out and he threaded his fingers through her gloved ones. “When it comes to praising Juvia, I don’t really have an alternative. My lady is deserving of more praise than I can offer, so I have no choice but to allow all that cross her path to utter their admiration as well. She is the sun in my galaxy, the moon that controls the shifting tide of my life.”

Juvia snorted, and then broke into full on giggle fits when she glanced at Gray. His jaw was hanging open, and he looked thoroughly confused, perhaps even a little appalled. Lyon simply laughed along with her before clearing his throat and yet again putting on a serious face. 

“Oh my heart! My lady wounds me with her laughter, and yet even through the pain I can’t help but take pleasure in the beautiful lilt of her voice as it bubbles through the air!”

“You can’t be serious. Does this actually work on you?” Gray was staring at both of them frowning. 

“Of course it works. I laugh every time he does it.” Juvia replied, grinning like a small child. 

She felt a soft tug at her hand and quickly skipped to Lyon’s side as he again started making his way to the mall. She glanced back to find Gray still standing in place, and Lyon looked back at him as well once he noticed her slower pace.

“Oi, come on, we’ve got a lot of shopping to do and it’s gonna be busy as hell! Let’s get a move on kid!” Gray blinked before frowning. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started to stalk after them. But Juvia caught the small shake of his head, and the tiny little smile on his lips once he thought they’d turned back away from him.

* * *


	5. Retail Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia, Lyon and Gray finally get to shopping. Surprisingly no one dies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we go, chapter 5. Sorry for the delay, I'm gonna try and get the remaining chapters up right now so we're all caught up.

* * *

They’d barely made their way into the bookstore, only to be greeted with a loud cry. “Oh my God, Lyon!”

Lyon barely had a chance to register the deep pink hair and tiny figure of Sherry’s little cousin, before the girl managed to trip, and was suddenly falling towards him. Instinct kicked in and Lyon rushed forward to catch her; first by the arm with one hand, pulling her upwards so she landed against his chest. His second arm wrapped about her waist in order to steady her. 

“Uh, thanks for the save.” A vibrant blush covered her cheeks.

“No problem,” he replied, carefully helping the girl right herself. 

As soon as she found her balance she lunged at him, arms wrapping around his torso in a vice grip so tight he would be hard pressed to call it a hug. He held his arms out from her body, suddenly all too aware the the girl had started puberty while he’d been gone. Her chest was pressed up against his, and it sent his mind into a panic. He quickly turned to send Juvia a pleading look, hoping that she'd help extract him from the younger girl. 

The response he got was less than promising as she simply frowned at him and mouthed ‘who is she?’.

“I'm so glad you're back. I've missed you,” Chelia murmured into his chest. 

Lyon sighed and force himself to relax a bit, allowing one of his arms to drop to her shoulder, patting her awkwardly. 

He'd almost forgotten how much time they use to spend together back when he was dating Sherry. He'd often invite the younger girl along on outings, treat her ice cream, or bring her a gift when visiting. It must have been hard for her when he'd suddenly just up and left after ending things between him and her cousin. He hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. 

“I missed you too,” he replied.

She pulled back from him then and offering him a beaming smile, much the way Sherry had when they'd started dating. A wave of guilt hit him hard, and he quickly pulled away from her. 

She didn't seem bothered by his withdrawal, instead turning and waving at Gray. 

“Hey Gray!” she chimed. Finally she glanced at Juvia and her eyes narrowed on contact. “Um, who are you?” 

She frowned as Juvia stepped forward and laced her arm with Lyon’s. Juvia simply offered Chelia a polite smile, and brushed her fingers against the back of Lyon's hand. He took a deep breath, leaning into her, before letting out a sigh. This could get ugly. 

“Chelia, this is my girlfriend, Juvia. Juvia, this is Chelia; Sherry’s little cousin.”

Chelia’s frown morphed into a full on glower as soon as the word girlfriend left Lyon's mouth. Thankfully, Juvia simply continued to smile back, completely unphased by the teen’s hostility. 

“Right, you mentioned her,” Juvia announced, before addressing Chelia directly, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“Why are you here?” Chelia snapped. 

“Last minute Christmas shopping,” Lyon answered. He knew the question wasn't directed at him, but Chelia’s hostility towards Juvia was unabashed and he doubted Juvia would put up with it for much longer. He also had no idea how much Sherry had told the girl regarding the details of their break up, and with Gray standing right there, it felt far too much like a ticking timebomb. One that he needed to defuse quickly, lest it blow up in his face. 

“Oh! Can I help?” Chelia asked. Lyon smiled back at her, eager to keep this new conversation topic going.

“Well, I don't suppose you know if there are any travel books for Alverez? Or maybe a translation book for Fiorian to Alverian?” 

Chelia immediately perked up. “Yeah we have a couple! You know, I did a project on Alverez last year, and I'd be happy to show you some of the more informative ones!” 

“That's great!” Lyon breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to have something Chelia could focus on that wasn't his love life. 

“Yeah well, while you guys do that, I'm gonna go check out the cooking section. See if I can grab something for the old man.” Gray announced. 

The remaining tension that Lyon had been feeling dissolved the instant Gray started walking in the opposite direction that Chelia had headed. It was still a small store, but the distance significantly lowered the chances of Gray overhearing anything. 

Lyon gently tugged Juvia’s hand as he moved to follow Chelia, only to have Juvia unlaced her hand in response. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

“I think I'm gonna go help Gray with the cookbooks,” she told him. 

“What, why?” He didn’t miss the wary glance she sent Chelia’s way. 

“Because you've got Chelia to help you, and I'm sure he could use some advice. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm not welcome to join you.” 

“That’s not true.” 

“Really?” Juvia deadpanned, before looking back over at Chelia. This time Lyon followed suit, only to find that she was, yet again, glaring in Juvia’s direction. “I know a jealous girl when I see one.”

Lyon frowned. “She's not jealous. Chances are, Sherry told her about why I ended things. She's probably just confused.”

The thought of the little girl actually seeing him as anything other than a big brother left a foul taste in his mouth. He'd broken Sherry’s heart when he ended things, and the thought that Chelia might follow in her cousin's footsteps….

“If that's what you want to tell yourself, then knock yourself out. Either way, she keeps glaring at me, and I'm not looking to fight with a little girl.” With that Juvia turned her back on him and strode away. His gut twisted as he watched her go, he really didn’t want to have this conversation without her. Sighing, he turned and made his way to Chelia’s section alone. 

Once there he noticed that she already has a couple books pulled out, and was jumping to try and grab one from a higher shelf. Without thinking he reached up, and grabbed it for her. 

She blushed as he handed it to her, offering him a shy smile. "Thanks" 

"No trouble at all princess. I know it’s been awhile, I’d like to believe I’m still your knight and protector. Besides, I wouldn’t want you toppling the bookcase over." he teased. 

Chelia pouted, before looking around. "Your girlfriend’s not with you?"

"Nah, she said that she'd help Gray instead, since you seemed to have me covered.” 

Chelia snorted in response. "If I were her, I wouldn't let you out of my sight."

Lyon flushed, finally entertaining the thought that maybe Juvia was right. He hated to admit it, but Chelia sounded jealous. 

"Nah, she just knows she's got nothing to worry about," he announced, suddenly feeling hyper aware of his words and actions. He needed to make it clear that he wasn't interested. Chelia simply frowned, before changing the subject abruptly. 

"So who are the books for?"

"Oh, umm, they're for Ultear. She's apparently planning a trip to Alverez next year, but she doesn't have a lot of information; nor does she know the language. Juvia thought it would be a good idea to get her some books to help out." 

"So Juvia gave you these suggestions?" Chelia's voice was strained, and her brows were furrowed. 

Lyon instantly regretted what he'd said. It was becoming more and more apparent that Juvia had hit the nail right on the head, even if he didn't want to admit it. He shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to redirect the conversation in a more positive direction. "Well yeah, but she also said you'd likely be better help, since you know about Alvarez."

Chelia nodded halfheartedly. A slight pout had formed on her lips, and it tugged at his heartstrings. Why was he always breaking hearts? It's not what he wanted to do.

"So how's Sherry doing?" he asked, hoping that the change of topic would perk her back up.

Chelia stiffened a bit, before glancing over at him, and shifted from foot to foot. "Um, well she's good. Really good actually."

Lyon was confused, to say the least. Sherry being good was, well, good. So why did Chelia seem uncomfortable about it? "That's great, right?"

"Well yeah, it's just...." Chelia paused, before murmuring, "Sherry's engaged."

Lyon broke out into a large grin. "That's great! I'm really happy for her."

Chelia whipped her head up to look at him. "You are?"

"Of course! I think it's great that she's found someone that makes her happy. We've talked a bit and Ren sounds like a really great guy," Lyon explained. "Don't you think so?"

"I do! I just, I thought you might be upset."

Lyon chuckled, "Why would I be upset? We broke up a while ago, and I know how much that hurt her. All I really want is for her to be happy, she deserves to be."

Chelia breathed out a wistful sigh. "That’s really sweet of you. Like, I know you broke up with her because of the distance and everything, and you two still talk from time to time. So I just thought, maybe, you still had feelings for her."

Lyon blinked, he hadn't expected Sherry to lie about the breakup, but the fact that she had certainly explained some of Chelia's behaviour. He couldn't help but wonder why she’d cover for him though, or why she hadn’t told him she’d done so. Sure their talks were infrequent, but it seemed like something that would come up.

"I guess, I just thought you two were the perfect couple. I mean you were always so nice to her, and to me. Like, you told her you loved her all the time. And you were always up for doing whatever she wanted, and were never shy, or embarrassed about being romantic in public." Chelia sighed, a dreamy look crossing her face.

Lyon blushed as he thought about all the things he'd done for Sherry. At the time, he'd wanted to be a perfect boyfriend, and had acted accordingly. But looking back on it, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He'd lead her on. All that time, and not once did he ever give her a reason to believe he was anything less than madly in love with her. 

"I mean, I know she likes Ren, and he must like her too if he asked her to marry him. But, like, it's not the same. I mean he's not romantic, and they barely even hold hands," Chelia confessed.

Lyon shook his head. "Sherry and I were not a perfect couple. We had issues too, we just rarely fought over them. I think both of us were just too afraid to be honest with each other, and admit that there was anything we needed to work on. Instead we just kept ignoring our issues, and kept trying to make up for it by going overboard on everything else. I know it may have looked perfect, but even I could see that Sherry was getting frustrated with certain things I did. Even more so with things that I didn't do."

There had always been one area he'd been lacking in, and it wasn't one any man wanted to admit. It definitely wasn’t something that he should be talking about with Chelia, that was for sure. 

He let out another sigh, before taking her hand in his. “Look, I get that Ren probably isn’t as attentive or affectionate towards you as I was. But that doesn’t mean he’s not in love with Sherry. In fact, it’s probably a good thing,” Lyon began, while reaching up and running his fingers through his hair. How best to explain this? “One of these days you’re gonna have a boyfriend of your own, and, well, you’re going to want to be the center of his world. So if he goes around constantly devoting time to others, the way I did with you, you’d probably feel neglected right?”

Chelia nodded slowly. “I guess so.”

“I never meant it that way, I just liked doing things as a group. I guess it just made it feel more like being friends. But that isn’t the way relationships are supposed to feel, and deep down I knew that, I just didn’t want to admit it.” 

“Did you even like me?” Chelia demanded, her face contorted in pain as she yanked her hand from his. 

Lyon’s heart clenched and he stepped forward, reaching out to her, only to have her step back. Her eyes were glossing over and every fiber of his being screamed at him to fix it. 

“Of course I liked you!” Lyon pleaded. “I adore you, just maybe not in the way you seemed to be hoping for.”

Chelia’s shoulders slumped as the tension raced from her body. Lyon held his breath. He really didn’t know what he was doing, all he knew was that he did not want her crying over him. 

“Chelia, I get that it’s not the same with Ren, and that you miss having someone around who’s more attentive, but Sherry deserves to be with someone that’s devoted to her. And one day you’re gonna find someone who’s just as devoted to you, and only to you. Any guy who isn’t doesn’t deserve you. Right?” 

It felt like an eternity as she stood there, staring at him with those large blue eyes. Then all at once she lunged forward, throwing herself into another jarring hug. Lyon froze momentarily, before wrapping the girl in a soft hug. At least it was better than her crying. Sorta.

“So, does this mean you’ll still help me pick out those books?” 

At his question Chelia withdrew from the hug, and beamed up at him. “Of course!” 

* * *

Guilt lanced through Juvia as she stole a quick glance in Lyon’s direction. The tension between him and the girl, Chelia, was palpable even from across the room. A part of her longed to step in, knowing that Lyon didn't handle confrontation well. It felt wrong to stand back and watch him now, but she doubted her presence would actually diffuse anything. Chelia’s hostility awoke deeply ingrained instincts and she didn't trust herself to remain indifferent. 

“You know, most girls wouldn't be comfortable leaving them alone like that.” 

Juvia scoffed, “Please, you expect me to feel threatened by a child? She doesn't even look old enough to work here.”

Gary raised an eyebrow in response, and Juvia winced at how bitter she sounded. She took a deep breath, trying to quell her emotions. “All I'm trying to say is I know Lyon, and I don't need to worry about him around other women.”

Gray sighed and reached up to scratch the back of his neck, grimacing as his gaze wandered over to Lyon. “No, I guess you don’t.” 

Rolling her eyes, Juvia shifted her focus back to the task at hand. “Yeah, well, you should be grateful I trust him, because you are in dire need of help.” 

She reached over and plucked the book he was holding out of his hands. The title read ‘16 Easy No-Bake Desserts’. 

“Your dad doesn’t need easy recipes. Besides, he wants to learn how to bake, so no-bake recipes kinda defeat the purpose,” Juvia chided.

“Oh, come on, I think it’s brilliant. He's already gotten used to having help in the kitchen, so once you leave he's gonna be harassing Tear and I. This way neither of us has to actually cook.” Gray flashed her a sly smirk, clearly proud of his logic.

Juvia pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed deep. “Or you could just learn to cook. How have you even managed to survive two years at university?”

Gray shrugged. “I've got a meal plan, it's part of the whole scholarship thing.” 

“Right, full scholarship. Must be nice,” Juvia grumbled, as she pulled a couple books from the shelves and began flipping through them.

“Hey, it’s not like it was just handed to me. I had to work hard for it.” 

Juvia sighed, setting aside a book and putting back the others. She kept scanning the shelves, until a single copy caught her eye. She bent down, pulling it out from it’s place, heart racing as she did. 

“Sorry, I’m sure you did. I’m just frustrated because, unlike hockey, there’s no such thing as a full swim scholarship. Even with a partial scholarship, and half a dozen bursaries, I can barely afford my tuition, never mind the meal plan.” Her fingers traced the cover of the book that was identical to the one that sat on top of her small pantry. “Instead I get to wake up at five in the morning so that I can use the communal kitchen while it’s still clean.”

“That sucks. If you’re struggling though, why not just stay at home?”

“That wasn’t an option. Even if it was, no one who wants to make something of themselves stays in Oaktown,” she explained. She took another deep breath and shook her head. God she needed to be less bitter, especially if she was going to attempt to celebrate Christmas this year with people who actually cared about the holiday. 

Easier said than done though. Her thumb brushed the cover of the book in her hand, and she thought back to a time when she’d genuinely believed she could get past the pain. 

Well, if you can’t make it, just fake it. 

Taking another deep breath, Juvia cleared her mind and force a smile back into place. She then reached out and grabbed the book she’d set aside, and presented it to Gray.

“Anyways, enough of that, it’s Christmas. Here, this one should give your dad a decent range of recipes to try.”

Gray blinked, and shook his head. “Uh, right. Thanks,” he replied. His eyes darted from the book in his hand to the one in hers. “What about that one? You thinking of getting it?” 

“Huh? Oh, umm, no. I mean, I have it. Had it for years really, it’s the only one I really use. It was a gift from my… um from my Dad…. It’s awesome actually, the recipes are all from communities all around the world. So they’re really authentic. Anyways, I was just thinking that since your Dad liked the cinnamon idea, and I got that from here, that he might- that maybe I should-.”

“You should get it for him. I think he’d be thrilled to have it.” 

Juvia bit down on her lip. She really wanted to, it had been a long time since she’d shared a kitchen with someone and doing so with Silver was amazing. Every once in awhile he’d say something, or do something, sometimes it was just the way he looked at her, but he reminded her of Matthew. “Yeah, well, I’d love to… but as I just pointed out, I’m more than a little broke. I can just recommend it to him.”

She let out a sigh, and moved to place the book back, only to have Gray grab it from her. When she looked back at him to inquire what he was doing, she was met with a brilliant grin. 

“I’ll get it for you then,” he announced, already striding towards the cash register. 

Juvia whirled around, chasing after him, a dozen protests at the ready to dissuade him.

“You really don’t need to do that! It’s not a big deal, I mean I know he’d like the book, but we can get it after Christmas. I already have a gift for him anyways, and I don’t want to go overboard, especially because I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortab- Ahh!”

Gray suddenly came to a halt, spinning around to face her. Juvia nearly lost her footing as she struggled to keep from walking right into him. He chuckled as she stumbled back, barely catching herself before she fell on her ass. She shot him a glare in response. 

“You’re ridiculous. It’s a twenty dollar book Juvia, not some grand gesture. If it really bothers you, then think of it as payment for helping me out with getting gifts for the rest of my family, but I’m buying this book for you ‘cause it’s a really thoughtful gift. So just chill.” 

Juvia found herself left in a rare moment of speechlessness. She really didn’t know how to respond, and so instead she simply nodded. Gray smiled back at her, and maybe, just maybe her stomach might have flip flopped in response. Silently she told herself that it wasn’t a big deal. It didn’t mean anything; certainly not to him. But it meant something to her, that book meant something to her, and the fact that she would be giving it to Silver as a Christmas gift…. Her stomach knotted and Juvia couldn’t tell if it was in anxiety or anticipation. 

* * *

Lyon had felt an overwhelming sense of relief as he'd walked out of the bookstore. The whole confrontation with Chelia had ended a lot better than it had started. He'd even promised that he'd say goodbye before leaving town again. 

The only thing that was bothering him at this point was the way Juvia had blushed over Gray buying her a book. Honestly he didn't know why she didn't just ask him, he had no problem buying her a book. 

Then again, it was Juvia, and he knew she never asked for anything, no matter how badly she wanted it. 

“So how's college going?” Gray asked. 

Lyon rolled his eyes, frustrated that Gray was basically hogging Juvia’s attention at this point. Weren't they at each other's throats last night anyways? When did that change?

Suddenly he felt Juvia hip check him. “What?” 

“You were just asked a question, usually the polite thing to do is answer it,” Juvia chastised. 

Lyon blinked and glanced at Gray, feeling certain Juvia had misunderstood, and that he'd correct her any moment now. Instead Gray met his gaze with an expectant look. 

Lyon scrunched up his face and wondered what alternate universe he'd ended up in where Gray actually bothered to make small talk. There had to be an ulterior motive. 

Another nudge from Juvia reminded him he'd still not answered. 

“Umm, well, It's going good. Great really. My grades are good, I've landed the lead in just about all of our school musical performances, I mean I've taken some lesser roles for the plays, but it's been really good. I'm even auditioning for a role in a minor musical in Hargeon come the new year,” Lyon replied. “What about you? Still undecided on your major?” 

“Actually I decided on my major halfway through last year. I’m majoring in science with a specialization in physiotherapy; that way once my hockey career is over I’ll have a related field that I can get into.” Gray explained. 

Lyon blinked, unsure of what to make of what he'd just been told. “That's very… Practical of you.”

“Yeah, well, not like I can play hockey forever. Mom and dad have been on my ass for a while now asking what my backup plan is, and last year I was talking to a councillor and they suggested it. I mean it's not easy but I kinda like it,” Gray replied, as he reached up and scratched the back of his head.

Lyon scoffed, “you should have just told them what I did. That if it doesn't work out you'd just get a business degree. I mean, you're already being scouted by several FHL feeder teams. Your career is set, and after that you'll have a bunch of sponsorships and more deals than you'll know what to do with and probably enough cash to live comfortably for the rest of your life even without that.” 

“Lyon, going back to school to spend four more years collecting debt isn't a backup plan. Specifically if don't have a job lined up or any previous work experience in the field.” Juvia lectured. 

“That's the point of the degree. I go, get the degree, and then once I'm out I'll get a job as an executive in a nice big company. They make like forty thousand a year starting out.” 

“That's not how it works Lyon. You don't just start out at a middle position job in a company with a bachelor's degree. Gray will have some ins to the industry if he ends up being a professional athlete and I've got years of experience between volunteering and work to recommend me to a job as an ECE. You need more than just a piece of paper to get you a good job.” 

Lyon let out a frustrated sigh. If there was one thing he and Juvia disagreed on, this was it. It wasn't like he didn't understand her point, he just felt it didn't apply. Sure, maybe that was a bit arrogant of him, but he knew he was talented. It was simply a matter of time before he got his break out role, and it would be all uphill from there. 

“ECE?” Gray asked. Ah, right, he wasn't around last night when she was talking to Ultear about her major.

“Early childhood educator,” Juvia explained.

“Yeah, I know what it means, I just thought you were pursuing a swimming career.” 

Juvia snorted and eyed him like he’d announced he thought the world was flat. “Yeah, no.”

“Why not?” Gray asked. 

“Because you can't make a career out of professional swimming.” Juvia replied, in a tone that suggested it was a well known fact. 

Lyon smirked, deciding play devil's advocate and keep the focus on Juvia as they entered the next store. “I'm pretty sure you could make it a career. After all, your times would qualify you for the National team.”

Gray almost tripped over his own feet at Lyon declaration. He barely managed to catch himself, but once he did he fixed Juvia with a look of awe. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” Lyon confirmed. 

Juvia shot him a scathing glare, clearly not pleased with the direction the conversation. Lyon smirked in response. 

Without missing a beat, Juvia turned to Gray with a fake smile and a sweet lilt to her voice, that Lyon knew meant she was trying to keep her emotion under wraps. 

“So, Ultear offhandedly mentioned her suitcase was getting old, I was thinking you could get her a new one,” she suggested before turning to Lyon, “and your mother’s purse strap is broken so maybe you could get her a new one, with a matching wallet?” 

Lyon nodded, accepting the conversation change gracefully. He knew when he'd pushed too far, and this was a rare sensitive topic between them. 

Gray, however, was apparently oblivious to her mood and continued to press for more information. “I don’t get it, if you like it, and you’re good at it, why not pursue it? I mean, being able to qualify on a national level is kinda a big deal.”

“Just because I like swimming doesn’t mean I like competing,” Juvia snapped, “besides, you barely make any money. Certainly not enough to live on until you've won a national tournament. Then you have to keep managing to place in order to get a sponsorship, all the while supporting yourself. I'd much rather spend my day in a pool helping kids learn to swim, and the fact that it pays well, and offers me experience just makes it an easy choice.” 

Gray looked taken aback, and Lyon felt a small surge of pleasure run through him as the discussion switched focus. A small sense of relief flooded through him as well. Gray might be thinking about alternatives post hockey career, but he hadn't just given up on the dream altogether. It was oddly reassuring to know he wasn't the only one shooting for the stars. 

Gray was silent as they finished shopping and Lyon figured he would drop the issue, however as they were leaving the store he spoke up again. 

“What if money wasn't an issue?”

Juvia sighed and rubbed her face. “Money is always an issue, but even if I had my living expenses covered and I wasn't walking out of college with a huge debt to pay, I still wouldn't want to make a career out of swimming.” 

“But don't you have a dream? Some goal beyond just a stable job?” 

“Of course I do. Eventually I want to set up a government program to help underprivileged children learn necessary life skills like cooking and cleaning, how to apply for jobs and find an apartment. I want to help set kids up so that they can survive on their own, and eventually learn to thrive,” Juvia lamented, “I’ve seen far too many kids that just end up giving up because they’re made to feel like they never had a chance anyways, and I want to change that.” 

Lyon reached out, taking her hand in his and rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. Sometimes he forgot just how hard she’d had to work to get to where she was, she just made everything look effortless. 

“You will,” he declared. 

“I’ll try, change doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t come easy. Besides, I have to get myself together before I can convince anyone that I should be put in charge of motivating a bunch of children.” 

“Uh, have you met yourself? You’re the most together nineteen year old I’ve met.” 

Juvia smirked. “You’re a theatre major, it’s your job to blow even the littlest things out of proportion.” 

Gray burst out laughing, and Lyon clutched his heart. “You wound me! How dare you imply I over react and dramatize my life! I thought you understood Juvia, I thought you understood!” 

Juvia blushed at the sudden onslaught of attention he’d drawn and quickly clamped a hand over his mouth before he could continue. 

“Drama queen,” Gray muttered, as he stuffed his hands into his jacket. Lyon managed to pry Juvia’s hand from his mouth long enough to offer him a cheshire grin in response. 

There was a pregnant pause in the conversation between the three of them as they walked on in silence. As much as he hated to admit it, the silence actually bothered him. He’d never been one to really hold a conversation with Gray, but it was almost nice. It certainly beat having to constantly be on edge waiting for the next jab. Lyon glanced sideways, wondering exactly what he could say to end the silence. 

“So if you two didn't meet through your major then how did you meet?” Gray asked, catching Lyon’s eye in his own sideways glance. 

Lyon bit his lip and glanced down at Juvia. She offered him a sly smile in response, and nudged him with her elbow, a way of prompting him to answer. 

Lyon sighed and carded his fingers through his hair. “Well, we met at a kegger during orientation week last year,” he admitted. 

Gray was looking at him, clearly waiting for more but Lyon wasn't sure how to proceed. He'd repeated the story often enough, but now he felt as though he could barely remember what had actually happened. 

Juvia sighed “Seriously? Normally I can’t shut you up about how we met.” 

“Yeah, well-” Lyon hesitated and glanced at Gray. He felt heat rise up the back of his neck, he was really no good at this and he couldn't think of any good excuses. “It's embarrassing,” he blurted out. 

Juvia responded with a particularly exaggerated eye roll, before turning to Gray. “It was heroic.” 

Gray offered her a skeptical look and Lyon felt the heat spread up his neck and onto his cheeks. 

“Honestly, it was straight out of a movie. I was there, young little freshman that I was, just hanging out alone because I didn’t know anyone. And of course these two assholes decide to try and pick me up, and I'm having none of it. But before I can really say anything, Lyon just buts right in and starts lecturing them about proper etiquette and how ‘that's not how you show interest in a lady’. It was all really over the top. Very Lyon, though I'm pretty sure he was a little drunk. Anyways, of course as soon as they take off I -”

Lyon just stared at her in awe. It never ceased to amaze him just how good Juvia was at lying. The way she was weaving the story, made it seem so believable, even though Lyon had been there and knew that, that was not how it went down. Then again, it was close. The key difference being that Lyon had been the one being harassed, and Juvia had been the hero. Well, that and unfortunately the guys at the party hadn’t been trying to hit on him, and were instead just harassing him much the way his peers had in high school. 

“-asked if I wanted to bail and go to the karaoke bar just off campus instead.” 

Lyon smiled then, half listening and half reminiscing about the night. Occasionally jumping in at this point of the story, filling in little details as he always did. It had been one of the best nights of his life, downing shots and singing with her. Their insane drunken walk back to her dorm, where he'd ended up passed out on her couch…. It was the first time he'd really felt free to just be himself. 

“The next morning I had and early class, and basically had to drag his hungover ass to the cafe, only to have him surprise me with a cup of tea once my lecture was over.” 

“Well you were in pretty rough shape yourself, in fact I still have no idea how you even managed to wake up to your alarm.” 

“Muscle memory I guess. But either way, from that moment we’ve been pretty much inseparable since.” 

“That's quite the story.” Gray replied. He'd been listening intently to them banter back and forth as they'd continued their shopping, and now had a pensive look on his face. “You two are really close then.” 

Lyon and Juvia turned and smiled at each other before Lyon answered. “Yep, she's my best friend, I'd be completely lost without her.” 

Gray eyed him for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, no doubt about that.”

Lyon frowned and was about to retort when Juvia cut him off. “I think we’re pretty much done with shopping, all that's left is for you two to get each other's gifts.” 

Lyon cringed, and was grateful to catch to contorted look on Gray’s face as well. 

“I think we’ll both pass,” he announced, with Gray seconding him a moment later. 

“What? But you have to.” Juvia protested. 

“No we don't, we haven't for years.” Gray countered.

“Why on earth not? You're brothers, and ‘tis the season to forgive and forget and spend absurd amounts of money on your family.” 

“Step brothers” Lyon corrected, “and we agreed years ago there was no point to giving each other anything, since we only ever just exchange gift cards.” 

“But-” 

Gray immediately cut her off. “Stop pushing it. We’ve just spent over an hour shopping together and haven't killed each other, that's a gift in its own right.”

“So then we’re done?” she asked.

“Uh not quite,” Lyon confessed, “I still need to get your gift.” 

He waited for Gray to make a big deal about having to wait around for him, or at least scoff in annoyance, but it never came. Instead he shrugged, “that's cool, I kinda wanted to go check out the sale over at the sports check anyways. That and I'm starving.”

“You're always starving.” Lyon replied, only to realize a moment later that he was starting to feel hungry too. “But I guess it's been a few hours since breakfast, we could meet back at the food court in a half an hour and grab lunch before heading home.”

“Sounds good.” Gray affirmed before turning to Juvia. “That okay with you? I mean you're welcome to join me-”

“It's fine,” she cut in, “I wouldn't mind doing a bit of window shopping myself.” 

“Okay, then it's settled,” Lyon announced, “we’ll meet back here at one thirty.” 

“‘Kay” 

“Sounds good.”

Lyon waited for them to start walking away, before turning to hurry to the store he had in mind. He was halfway there when he felt a quick succession of vibrations against his thigh. Reaching into his pocket Lyon pulled out his phone and checked the notification. 

A smile stretched across his face as he read it. 

_Mer: Hey! Are you in town yet?_


	6. Sticks and Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyon and Gray run into some of Gray's old hockey buddies and things heat up quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Okay so fair warning, this chapter does contain bullying and homophobic slurs. Please proceed with caution if those things are triggering. Also I'm sorry to all Bacchus fans, I actually really love him, but in canon he can be a bit of a douche, and quatro Cerberus give me that "man's man" vibe.

* * *

_Mer: Hey! Are you in town yet?_

_Lyon: Yep just got in last night. :)_

_Mer: Nice! How's your family?_

_Lyon: They're good. Happy to see me._

_Mer: I'll bet. Any chance I can steal you away for a day? I'm free all break except the 23rd._

_Lyon: I think I might be able to manage that. I don't really have a lot going on, would Wednesday work? I can meet you in Edelweiss._

_Mer: Definitely! There's this great coffee place right on Main Street called Thanks a Latte. We could meet there!_

_Lyon: Sounds delightful! 2pm work? ;)_

_Mer: It’s a date. ;)_

Lyon grinned as he reread the text conversation for what had to be the tenth time since he'd gotten in line to order lunch. He was more than a little pleased with himself and his use of the last half an hour. Not only had he managed to score a date, but he knew Juvia was going to freak over the gift he'd gotten her. It was a bit more pricey than he'd usually go, but he couldn't let Gray one up him simply by buying a book, so he figured it was worth it. Besides he owed her big time for coming home with him. 

Now he just needed to find time to tell her he had a date, and then figure out how they were gonna cover it up for the day. He'd probably just get her to drive him to the coffee shop then give her the car to go exploring with. He could even introduce her! 

He grinned excitedly at the thought and finally stepped up to place his order, making sure to order for her as well. He fired her off a text letting her know. 

A moment later his phone buzzed. 

_My Fair Lady: You don't have to do that!_

_Lyon: Too late. :P_

_My Fair Lady: ugh, fine. I'll be headed back in a minute._

Lyon gave himself a mental pat on the back as he grabbed their food and went in search of a table. A part of him hoped Gray would be late and he'd have a chance to talk to Juvia privately.

That hope quickly died when he caught sight of the man in question, seated at a four person table. The happiness he'd been feeling was replaced by an ice cold chill that ran up his spine when he recognized the other five guys clustered around the table as members of the high school hockey team. 

He quickly scanned the rest of the food court, desperate for another table to sit at, all the while hoping none of them spotted him. 

“Oi! Vast Ass!” So much for hope. 

Lyon tried to swallow the bile in his throat and took a few deep breaths to slow his frantic heart. 

“Vastiass!! Ow awoo!” 

“Ow, ow, ow!” 

Lyon wanted nothing more than to curl up and hide at the course of howls that echoed through the tiny food court, but he knew they’d just follow. Taking another deep breath he straightened, squaring his shoulders and shooting a glare at the group. There was a chorus of laughter from them, and he hesitated before walking towards the table, ignoring the stares of various onlookers. The only consolation Lyon was able to find was that Gray seemed just as bothered by the outside attention as he was. 

He avoided making eye contact as he got closer, instead focusing his gaze on the table, hoping that if he ignored them long enough they’d just fuck off and go back to talking about hockey. He pulled out the chair diagonal to Gray, keeping as much distance between himself and the group as possible. 

“Well look who finally came back home for a visit. I was starting to think you’d left for good,” Bacchus jeered, the others snickering and smiling behind him.

“Nope, just been busy with school,” Lyon replied, continuing to avoid eye contact. Of all the guys on Gray’s hockey team, Bacchus had always been the worst. The man was crude, and even worse than Gray when it came to women, never mind any other progressive thoughts. Worst of all, he seemed to live to torment Lyon.

“Uh huh, sure. School. It’s funny, that’s Gray’s excuse for avoiding us too.” Lyon frowned and glanced over at Gray, who seemed just as intent to stare at his food as Lyon was. It was news to Lyon that they’d had a falling out, then again, anything concerning Gray’s life in the last two years would likely be news to him. 

“Dude, what’s with the salads?” Nobarly asked, his ridiculously long nose scrunched up in disgust. 

“Yeah man, are you on some chick diet or something? Why would you order two freaking salads when you can enjoy a good burger?” Jäger added. 

Lyon sighed. “It’s called eating healthy, and the second salad isn’t for me.” 

“Oh,” Bacchus chimed, suddenly all too interested, “Finally brought your boyfriend home from fagtown? I mean that’s why you moved down there right?” 

Lyon felt his entire body stiffen as a chorus of laughter engulfed him. He desperately wanted to punch the man right in the face, but he found himself unable to move at all. It shouldn’t matter what they thought, it’s not like they knew anything. As Juvia would point out, their accusations were just insults based off archaic gender concepts, and instead of engaging them he should simply point out the flaws in their beliefs. Depersonalize the conversation. 

Instead he barely managed to choke out his usual meager defence. “It’s for my girlfriend.” 

Derisive snorts and scoffs from the group let him know of their unanimous disbelief. 

“Oh and where is this girlfriend of yours?” Bacchus asked.

Lyon frowned, checking his phone. It had been four minutes since her text, she should be there any minute really. “She’s on her way.”

“Suure. Bet you she’s made up,” Rocker taunted.

“Haha, you’re on, I bet you she’s ugly.” Nobarly replied.

Lyon felt himself bristle, angry at the implied slight towards Juvia. He glanced once again at Gray, and found him glaring at the poutine in front of him as he stabbed forkfuls and shoveled them into his mouth. Lyon felt a wave of betrayal he hadn’t been expecting to feel. He knew better than to expect Gray to come to his rescue, but he figured the man would at least acknowledge Juvia’s existence.

“Ooo, I think we struck a nerve there. What’s a matter, don’t like guys talking about your girl?” Bacchus chuckled. “You know, I bet she's just like Sherry.”

He glanced back at the others, waggling his eyebrows, and the group of men shared a knowing look. Lyon felt his stomach twist, he knew it was a setup, but for the life of him couldn't quite figure out what they were talking about. He desperately wanted to just ignore it but curiosity nagged at him. 

“Meaning?” 

The word hung between them for a moment, before a malicious grin broke out on Bacchus’ face. “Meaning she's probably hot, dumb, and desperate for a man that’ll actually give it to her.” 

The chorus of cackles that erupted and Lyon cursed himself for asking, a wave of anger and shame hit him hard, leaving him paralysed. He wanted nothing more than to stand and fight, but his body wouldn’t budge. Instead he clenched his eyes shut and balled his hands into fists. In his mind he sent out a silent plea to Juvia, begging her to swoop in and save him yet again.

* * *

Juvia looked about as she wandered into the food court, searching for the all too familiar shock of white hair that would lead her to Lyon. After a first glance around she was about to pull out her phone when a chorus of laughter caught her attention, and she spotted Gray seated at a table, looking extremely pissed and uncomfortable, surrounded by a group of wannabe punks that clearly spent a fortune at Hot Topic. 

She quickly moved towards them, her heart picking up speed as she caught sight of Lyon through the group. His entire body was tense and he was hunched over and glaring down at the table. She felt anger surge through her at the sight. He looked so much like he had the first night they’d met, a mix of anger and abject terror freezing him into place. 

White hot rage boiled within her and she was consumed with the sudden desire to storm over there and grab the stupid manbun of the asshole closest to Lyon and use it to smash his face into the table. It was a level of violence that she hadn't felt since leaving Oaktown. 

She forced herself to stop in place and breathe, because she wasn't a minor anymore and there were serious consequences that came with assault. Furthermore, back in Oaktown people happily turned a blind eye to such things, but she doubted it would be the same in such a small town. 

With practiced ease, Juvia forced her emotions back into check, letting the anger simmer just under the surface, and glanced back over at the scene, this time trying to be more calculating. 

Lyon’s clear discomfort gave her a good idea as to what the topic at hand was, but she couldn't be sure. Still a little bit of cleavage wouldn't hurt his cause, at the very least it might shut a few of the mongrels up. She gave the bottom of her sweater a good tug, allowing it to expose the top of her cleavage, before sauntering her way into the fray. 

She offered Lyon a blinding smile as she brushed past the horde of chuckling idiots, before taking the empty seat between him and the others. “Sorry I took so long, I got turned around on the way here.” 

Juvia could feel the men staring at her and caught a few grins out of the corner of her eye. She kept her back to them though, using her body as a physical barrier between them and her best friend. He looked pale and his posture was rigid as he shot a glare over her shoulder at the men behind her. 

She smiled at him then, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. As her thumb brushed against the back of his hand, his muscles uncoiled, and he leaned back in his chair, offering her a tiny smile in return. 

“Damn, looks like you were right Bacchus!” the blond hooted, and Juvia quirked a brow at Lyon, who tensed all over again. 

From directly behind her she heard bunhead speak up. “That I was. Well Vastia, you gonna introduce us to your woman.” 

Lyon grimace, and Juvia felt her own face scrunch up at being talked about like an accessory. She took a deep breath and schooled her displeasure away, being sure to keep her expression blank and uninterested as she turned to face the asshole she was about to shred. Lyon’s sigh rose up behind her and she felt a light squeeze of her hand. 

“Bacchus, this is Juvia. Juvia, this is Bacchus. The others are Nobarly, Rocker, Jäger, and Semmes.” Lyon announced, pointing to each man in turn. Juvia barely allowed herself to register any of them, her gaze sweeping over the group swiftly before focusing back on the man in front of her.

“Hi,” she replied, before turning back to Lyon without waiting for a response. 

Several disgruntled noises that sounded behind her before a low chuckle rose above them. “Aww, what’s wrong Sugar Lips, can’t handle the sight of some real men?” 

Anger flared up, scorching through her veins as she bit back the growl that threatened to escape. It had been a while since she’d been face to face with a bully this determined, but she knew better than to let him know he got to her. Slowly she turned around, offering him a blank stare. 

“I’m not sure I’m following.” 

There was a bark of laughter from one of the others, Nob-something or other, the dude who looked like he should be named Cyrano. “He means that we’re too sexy for-”

“Yeah, I know what he meant. I’m not a moron,” Juvia snapped, effectively silencing the man. This time she let her eyes wander over the group slowly, clearly assessing them before locking eyes with their leader. He stared down at her, eyes bright and a smirk playing on his lips. She took a breath, making sure to keep her voice conversational and her face blank as she landed her first blow. “I’m just confused because you barely make third place, and the rest of you wouldn’t rank if you were the only men in the room.” 

Satisfaction came rolling in as she watched the asshole’s eyes narrow, and his smirk falter. She’d forgotten how much she enjoyed being a total bitch. Most women would shy away from the title but Juvia embraced it, embodied it and wore it like armor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gray glace up at her and the small smile that graced his lips. 

Bacchus shifted, his hand came down on the table and he leaned forward to tower over her. The smirk might have been gone but somehow he still looked amused. Juvia stayed in place, not allowing his proximity to unnerve her. 

“Well aren’t you feisty.” He let his eyes trail down her figure for a moment, a mirror to her previous action. “I can’t blame you though, there must be a lot of pent up frustration dating this loser.” 

Her thumb rubbed circles into Lyon’s hand, offering comfort while grounding her. It was rare she met anyone so committed to going toe to toe with her, let alone one who managed to get under her skin. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for Lyon, having to grow up with this ass breathing down his neck.

“I can assure you none of my frustration stems from Lyon. I’m more than satisfied with things between us.” It was the truth, even if it was misleading. She knew what he’d been inferring, and it irked her that he’d hit so close to the truth. Irregardless, her sexual frustration had nothing to do with Lyon, so let them make false assumptions.

Blondie, the one with the gravity defying hair, laughed in response. “Like Lyon’s pansy ass has time to satisfy anyone, he’s too busy prancing around in a tutu singing show tunes.”

Juvia shot him a scathing look, as the anger in her started to boil over, causing Blondie to flinch. Her patience was paper thin at this point, and the assholes just kept pushing. It was clearly time to stop pulling punches. 

“Did you ever wonder why women flock to lead singers in bands?” she asked, cutting him off before he could utter some stupid reply. “You may think it’s the fame, but part of it is that being able to sing and hold notes requires vocal training. Singers train for hours so that they can last through a concert, and if you think that oral stamina only applies to singing you’re a moron. So trust me, my satisfaction isn’t an issue.” 

Bacchus cackled, drawing her attention back to him. She really couldn’t understand what he found funny. “Listen babe, a real man doesn’t need anything but his co-”

“Okay, you know what, I’m just gonna stop you right there,” Juvia interjected, her hand releasing Lyon’s to fly up and signal him to stop. “That sentence you were about to finish just proves that you have zero interest in satisfying anyone but yourself. Any woman with an ounce of sexual experience knows that sex without foreplay isn’t gonna do shit. And maybe crappy, subpar sex is just an accepted reality here, but I’m well past the point where I’m willing to entertain any idiot who can’t be bothered to do more than grope around before going at it. In fact, any woman with an ounce of self interest should be past that point. So maybe that’s why you’re trying, oh so hard, to convince me you’re worth my time. But let me tell you, the only girls you’re gonna sell that shit to are dumb high school virgins, so just give it up. Go home and jerk off in your mother’s basement like the loser you are.” 

Bacchus’ muscles were tensed and she could hear his heavy breathing as he seethed over her comments. He was glaring down at her, then suddenly his gaze flicked behind her, no doubt to Lyon. Juvia barely had a chance to register the action before he was spewing out another insult. 

“Yo, faggot, why don’t you grow a pair of balls and muzzle your goddamn bitch.” 

The screech of metal on tile echoed across the food court as Juvia shot from her seat, getting right up in his face. He still had a good half a foot on her but it didn't matter, she was out for blood. It had been years since she'd heard that word used, but it still called up the same white hot rage as it always had, along with the memories. 

Memories of blood soaked through clothes, the sound of sirens, the smell of sterilized rooms, and the words that still haunted some of her dreams. ‘It was lucky you found him, any longer and…’

She barely kept her fists from flying, instead spitting out a challenge, “I dare you to try, since you're such a real man.”

“Oi! That's enough Bacchus,” Gray commanded. 

Juvia barely registered that he was standing now, shoving the others out of the way. Bacchus, however, glanced at him before looking down at her indignantly. 

“Back off little girl. I was raised not to hit women, but I will defend myself and I'm trained in the martial arts,” he warned. 

Juvia scoffed, forcing her body to relax. She inched back, just enough to allow her room to loosen her stance. She leaned on one leg, arms crossed loosely at her waist, face passive and unimpressed. There was mere inches between them, but she trusted her instincts, knowing it would be enough. 

“Is that supposed to scare me? I grew up in Oaktown, I went to high school under the mountain” she sneered. The effect was instantaneous, the haughty expression fell from his face and was replaced by a frown. One glance at his groupies and she could see their barely masked fear. The reputation of her teenage stomping grounds were well known, and apparently, even in the east coast, bitterly respected. “I've probably been in more real fights in one day than the lot of you have in your life's combined.” 

She looked at Bacchus then, the need to punch someone building and clawing at her. She just needed him to take the first swing, all he had to do was start it and then she could let loose the floodgates. 

“I think it's time you take you little boyfriends home,” she growled.

He twitched, arm tensing as he pulled it back. That was all the prompting she needed as she side stepped, body tensing, arms free and out, ready to counter just as he started to lunge forward. 

All at once Gray was in between them. His body was pressed firmly against Bacchus’, and his hand fisting Bacchus’s shirt as he forced the man to stumble backwards. “I said that's enough!”

Frustration tore through Juvia, leaving her close to tears. She barely managed to bite back a screamed demand for him to move the fuck out of her way. He'd been so perfectly content to stand on the sidelines, for him to interfere now…. 

Bacchus wrenched himself from Gray’s grip, and refocused his gaze on her. “Move Fullbuster.”

“Come at her again and I will put you on your ass.” Gray growled, stepping back in between them. 

Bacchus’ gaze shifted between them, but the fire that had been there a moment before was fading. 

A hand clapped down on his shoulder from behind, one of his friends tugging him away. “Come on man, it's not worth it.”

Coward. The word danced on her tongue as Bacchus grudgingly nodded. Her whole body felt as though it would explode as he stepped back from Gray. The second his back turned on her words tumbled from her mouth, a last ditch attempt to cajole him. 

“That’s right, run away like the scared little dogs you are.”

Gray whirled on her then, shooting her a scornful glare. 

“Juvia!” Lyon’s voice hissed, as a hand grabbed her elbow, attempting to tug her backwards. She didn't budge though. Her eyes were fixed on Bacchus’ back, willing him to turn around. 

He never did. 

Her throat constricted, and her chest was heavy. It felt like she was drowning in her unresolved anger. Anger that coiled in her stomach and twisted its way through every fiber of her being, searching for a release that was no longer coming. Instead it was slowly consuming her instead. She dug her nails into her palms, focusing on the pain, willing her energy into the action. 

Gray turned and followed her gaze, the two of them watching as Bacchus and his friends wandered out of sight. He let out an audible exhale, and threaded his fingers through his hair, before turning to face her and Lyon. He locked eyes with her, his expression worn and pleading. 

“You okay?”

No. No she wasn’t. Her nails dug deeper into her skin. “You shouldn’t have interfered.” 

He flinched at the venom in her voice, a small frown marring his perfect face. “I was just trying to help.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t need your help.”

“Why are you mad at me? I just defended you,” Gray snapped. 

“Why?” she demanded. 

“Huh? Why what?”

“Why did you defend me?” 

“Because he was being an asshole to you, and I'm not just gonna sit back and watch that,” Gray answered hotly. 

“You were perfectly fine watching when Lyon was his target.” Juvia watched as Gray choked back his planned retort. He'd walked right into her set up. Satisfaction rippled through her at his discomfort, and she readied another verbal barb, only to feel a hand cover her own. 

Lyon pressed himself against her, an arm wrapping around her middle and pulling her back into him. It forced her out of the fighting stance she’d taken, and the feel of him there grounded her. Slowly all the rage ebbed, giving way to pain and a hollow empty feeling. 

Gray's brows furrowed, and he repeatedly seemed ready to respond, only to stop before any words came out. Satisfied that he would be forced to think a while longer, Juvia slowly untangled herself from Lyon's embrace and moved back into her chair, finally allowing some of the tension in her body to release. 

She glanced at the food in front of her and felt her stomach knot. She really wasn't hungry anymore. 

“I didn't defend him because, if the roles were reversed, he sure as hell wouldn't defend me,” Gray explained. He was glaring at her from across the table as he sat down as well. His fists were clenched, and body tense. 

She recognized the fighting stance as a response to her hostility, and decided to change tactics, no longer eager to fight someone. She let out a long, drawn out sigh, before meeting his glare with a tired look. 

“If you defend someone, solely because they'd do the same for you, are you really aiming to help? Or are you just paying them back?” she asked. “Do you really expect praise and gratitude for something that's mutual?”

Again Gray was left floundering, and this time silence was left to reign.

* * *

Lyon felt like he was going insane. The three of them had been sitting in silence for over fifteen minutes now. Meaning he'd had nothing to do for the last fifteen minutes but think about and replay the nightmare he'd just escaped from. 

He'd managed to force some of his salad down, but he was struggling to finish it. It had been so long since he'd had to endure that kind of harassment. Even in college, even with them knowing the truth, it had been contained. A few snarky comments, the occasional joke at his expense, then they'd be on their way. Hell the night he'd met Juvia they'd been plastered and even then there had been no slurs, just the truth thrown in his face. He was gay, and they didn't like it. 

Hell, he could have avoided the harassment all together had he followed his ex’s example. Grab a girlfriend and fake a relationship until they laid off. 

In hindsight, had he been comfortable with himself, he doubted they would have bothered him at all. They'd stopped quickly and permanently once they'd been called out. Instead it was his own insecurities, bred from years of bullying and being called gay solely because of his interests, that they'd preyed on. 

Insecurities that quickly melted away with Juvia by his side. She'd all but glued herself to his side those first few weeks, chasing off anyone that tried to shame him. She carved out a safe space for him, gave him freedom to be himself for the first time in his life, and he'd flourished for it. He'd all but forgotten the fear he'd felt growing up, the shame and self loathing that he'd been made to feel. 

Now it was all back. One simple confrontation with a single group of assholes and he found himself wishing he'd never been born, wishing he'd never come home.

The worst part is it wasn't even his sexuality they were attacking. He wasn't out here, they had no way to know he was really gay. They were attacking his interests, his love of the theatre, of singing and dancing, of the very things that had kept him going as a child. And not just him, his mother as well. Their hatred was an attack on all the nights he'd spent singing to make her smile, dancing to make her laugh. It had been their little reprieve from the harsh reality of life. 

It was still his reprieve. 

Delicate fingers brushed against the back of his hand before threading through his own absentmindedly, drawing his attention to the woman beside him. 

Juvia was clearly still upset, her salad was mostly uneaten and she hadn’t said a word since her last jab at Gray. It worried him because he’d never seen her that mad before. 

Sure, when they’d met she’d been angry at the guys harassing him, but she’d never gone looking to actually physically fight someone. At least, not seriously; she and Gajeel would constantly get into scuffles when he visited. But considering how often he and Gray had fought over the years, Lyon didn’t think that could be counted. Siblings fought, that was just a given. 

But today was something he'd never seen from her, and it scared him a little. It honestly felt like she'd been trying to goad Bacchus into hitting her, and then to top it off she’d snapped at Gray for interfering and deescalating the situation. None of it made any sense. 

With a sigh, Lyon glanced up and across the table, only to catch Gray in the midst of stealing glances at Juvia. It normally would have bothered him, but the concern painted all over Gray’s face actually evoked a bit of sympathy from Lyon. 

Sure, Gray was an ass for just sitting there, but Lyon had to admit, he was grateful Gray stepped in when things got heated. Lyon didn't even want to think about what would have happened otherwise.

So yes, he felt a bit of sympathy, and some gratitude towards Gray. Feelings he'd never believe he would feel again after ten years of hell. But he did. Hell he longed to turn the clock back forty-five minutes and just go back to small talk and hanging with the two of them. It was that final thought that convinced Lyon he had, indeed, gone insane. He had to be to even consider what he was about to do. 

He let out a loud sigh, drawing the gazes of his two companions. “You know, I'm really pissed off at you too, Gray.” 

Gray frowned across at Lyon, before leaning back against the chair, arms folded across his chest. 

“You interrupted a once in a lifetime occurrence. I was really looking forward to Juvia continuing to extol my talents.” Lyon’s perfectly serious expression faltered when he snuck a peek at Juvia. 

Her eyes were wide and her whole face was flushed bright red. A smirk curled into his lips as she buried her face in her hands, letting loose a strangled squeak. 

Gray blinked at him then raised a brow in question.

Lyon grinned in response, draping an arm over Juvia’s shoulders. “You see, she's incredibly bashful outside the bedroom. It's almost impossible to get her to talk about anything. Leave it to Bacchus to rule her up enough to forget propriety.”

“Shut up, Lyon,” Juvia ground out through a clenched jaw. 

“Haha, no way! You pretty much implied that I was a God amongst men; in regards to oral. I mean I knew you were enjoying yourself, cause you're a bloody banshee-” 

“Oh. My. God! We are not having this conversation again,” Juvia pleaded. 

Lyon couldn't help but laugh. There were a couple times when he'd ended up crashing on the couch at her ex’s place and he could honestly say that Juvia’s demure image was an act. Something he loved to tease her about. 

“Oh, come on! My ego needs stroking.” 

“I beg to differ.” Gray cut in, offering him a smirk, prompting Lyon to offer one in return. The unfamiliar warmth that he'd felt from before slowly coming back to him. 

“You do not need me to stroke your ego, you manage just fine on your own.” Juvia grumbled. 

Lyon whipped his head around to face her with a shit eating grin. “Oh my god, You naughty little minx! You just made a sexual innuendo! I'm so proud!”

“I didn't mean it like that! Why do you have to turn every meal into a sex talk,” Juvia lamented, flopping her arms and head onto the table dramatically. 

Lyon chuckled, grateful that she seemed to be back to her old self. It was one of the great things about Juvia, her mood changes were almost instantaneous. 

She turned her head to gaze up at him from her place on the table, and suddenly her smile fell, replaced with a serious look that twisted at his insides. “Are you okay?”

He wanted to stay yes, but the word caught in his throat and refused to come out. She wouldn't believe him anyways, because how could he be? He settled for shrugging. 

Again her hand found his, offering a small squeeze. He didn't need the words to know what she meant. 

‘I'm here with you.’ 

Across the table Gray was studying them, the weight of his gaze making Lyon all too aware of the vulnerability that he was showing. 

“It's fine. I'm used to it by now.”

Juvia frowned. “Just because you're used to something doesn't make it okay. It doesn't make you okay.”

“Yeah well, sometimes you gotta make due with the hand you're dealt.”

Juvia sighed and nodded. She sat up then leaning back in a stretch, before running her free hand over her face. She looked tired. “Well, I can definitely understand why you didn't want to come back here.”

“You'd be the only one who does,” Lyon replied, glancing over at Gray. His accusations from the parking lot coming back to hit Lyon full force. Really, it was awkward having this conversation in front of him. In fact Lyon was surprised he hadn't tried to interrupt the moment before now, or walked away. Gray didn't do emotions. But maybe he was just afraid to draw Juvia’s attention. 

Lyon turned back to her, locking his gaze with hers and squeezing her hand. “You still willing to stay with me? See this through?”

“Of course! Always.” Her answer was immediate and without thought. It sent a flood of warmth through his whole body, and a smile broke out on his face. 

“Then I've never been better.” 

Her eyes widened and a light blush stained her cheeks, before she answered his smile with a blinding smile of her own. 

Yep, he was going to be okay. Juvia was there with him, and on his side. And for now that was enough.

* * *

Sleep eluded Juvia again that night, her mind cycling between the day’s events and that first night at the hospital all those years ago. She'd easily been able to pack it all away for the day, instead focusing on keeping Lyon distracted. 

He said he was fine, but she knew that wasn't the case. Sure he acted the same and carried on like nothing happened, but there were enough little signs that she knew he was still struggling with the confrontation. 

It was the way he played it off to his parents when asked how the shopping went, the small lapses of silence that he'd fall into, the fact that he'd all but forgotten he had a date on Wednesday until the were getting ready for bed. He was more subdued as well, toning back on his dramatic flare. 

The worst part was that she seemed to be the only one that noticed. No one else seemed to pick up on the changes, each carrying on as though nothing had changed. Of course, it occurred to Juvia that perhaps nothing had for them, that maybe the Lyon she knew was the oddity. 

It all weighed heavy on her mind, and she'd been eager to talk to him about it privately. Once they'd made it to the safety of his bedroom she'd asked if he wanted to talk about anything, which had then reminded him about the date he had, and her planned line of questioning went right out the window. She'd simply gotten caught up in the moment, throwing her arms about him and trying to muffle the shriek of happiness. 

Of course they agreed they'd save details for tomorrow; just in case anyone was listening. Still, they talked in hushed whispers for a bit longer, giggling like children staying up late during a sleepover. 

It wasn't until after Lyon had fallen asleep that Juvia's concerns came racing back up to the forefront of her mind, leaving her tossing and turning. How Lyon managed to fall asleep in the first place was beyond her, but she didn't dare wake him now. Instead she sighed, and slipped quietly from the bed and crept out of the room.

She didn't need to question why the light was on this time around and she halted at the top of the steps. She really didn't want to face him. Part of her was still mad at his blatant lack of concern for Lyon, and part of her felt guilt over the way she'd lashed out at him. 

She hesitated before starting her decent. It's not like she had to stay in the kitchen, there were a bunch of other rooms she could go curl up in. All she needed to do was go in, and make a cup of tea. Two minutes tops, then she'd leave.

She padded down the hallway, attempting to make as little noise as possible, on the off chance she could slip in and out unnoticed. As usual luck was not on Juvia’s side. 

As soon as she stepped into the kitchen their eyes locked and she froze in place. The fact that he was topless yet again shouldn't have surprised her, but even after twenty four hours of exposure to his abs, Juvia was still left dumbstruck at the sight. 

“Hey,” he greeted, offering her a small smirk. 

His voice broke the trance she'd fallen into. She took a breath, straightening just a bit before continued forward into the kitchen. She made a beeline straight to the kettle, mumbling her reply as she passed.

“Still having trouble sleeping?” He asked.

“Yep,” she popped, a small amount of frustration seeping into her tone.

“I take it that you're still angry with me then?” Gray huffed. 

Juvia stalled at the accusation. Yes a part of her was, but it felt wrong to just say that. He'd actually been trying to help her, and she hated feeling ungrateful. There was so much else she was feeling that had nothing to do with him.

“I'm not mad at you, not really,” she clarified, turning to look him in the eye. “I'm just-” 

Just what? Disappointed that he'd ignored his brother being bullied? Hurt that he'd let her best friend get picked on? Appalled that he considered those asshats friends? Guilty for snapping at him. Her emotions where a swirling storm that couldn't be pinned down or properly named. 

Unworthy. It was a voice that stood out amongst the chaos, singular and strong. Unworthy of his care, his time, his interest. It was just a matter of time before he figured that out for himself. She promised not to get attached to him, but it was already proving harder than she'd anticipated. It was bad enough he was attractive as sin, but for all that he clearly had it in him to be a jerk, he also had moments where he seemed like a decent person. It all made her heart ache, because she wanted those softer moments to be genuine, but was terrified of what it might mean if they were. 

“You're just?” Gray prompted, dragging Juvia from her thoughts. 

She flushed and silently cursed herself for her wandering mind. She still had no clue how to explain her feelings to him. How do you say ‘I'm not really mad at you, but I want to be, because otherwise I'm liable to lose myself and fall for you, and as soon as I do you'll abandon me and then I'm fucked.’? 

Trick question; you don't. 

Juvia let a sigh fall from her lips. “It's just, he’s your brother. Shouldn't that count for something?”

“Step-brother,” Gray corrected her. 

A frisson of agitation lance through her. What was wrong with these two? Why couldn't they learn to appreciate what they had?

“So what? Blood relations aren't the only thing that can make someone your family.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to Lyon because that's all that matters to him.”

“That's not true!” Juvia’s reply came without thought.

“Really? Cause he's the one that's made that distinction clear over the years, not me.” 

Gray’s words hung in the air between them, and Juvia forced herself to swallow another immediate denial. 

Juvia hated to admit it but she could see Lyon being the one who started the distinction between step-brother and brother. He'd always been very particular about how he referred to relationships and connections with others. It just hadn’t really bothered her until now, because she'd always held a special status. The top status in his life, really, and the closest thing to family he had at college. But here, in his home, surrounded by his real family; she was just his friend. She was only even here because he needed her help, and support, not because she belonged here. It was a painful reminder that all of this was only temporary. That the rest of his family-

“Silver’s not blood.” Juvia spit the thought out the second it occurred to her, clinging to it like it was a life line.

Gray quirked an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Your Dad, he’s not blood related to Lyon, but Lyon still considers him family,” she clarified. 

Gray blinked a few times, before frowning. “Huh. Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” He let out a sigh then, slowly carding his fingers through his hair. 

There was a beat of silence before Gray spoke again, “Still doesn’t change the fact that I’m not.”

“Do you want to be?” 

Gray offered a shrug in response, refusing to meet her gaze. His body slumped forward and his shoulders curled inwards as his hands found purchase in his pockets. 

“I don’t know. Even if I did, it wouldn't matter. Lyon’s pretty set on his opinion of me, and maybe I could have changed that opinion in high school, but now?” Gray shook his head. “Lyon’s the type to hold grudges, and he’s got years of them between us.”

Juvia sighed, turning briefly to pour the tea she’d come down for in the first place. Her fingers curled around the warm porcelain mug, holding it close to her chest as she turned back to him. She leaned back against the counter and brought the mug up to her lips, blowing softly. The steam curled out in front of her with the exhale before straightening again, wafting up against the soft skin of her cheeks. She breathed in the scent of lavender, before offering him her attention once again. It had given her a much needed moment to collect her thoughts. 

“The way I see it, you can’t change what’s already happened. All you can do is keep trying to be the person you want to be, moving forward. If you want Lyon to consider you family, then you’ve got to treat him like family.” 

“And what happens when he just keeps treating me like the family fuck up?” 

Juvia shrugged. “Depends what you want. It probably took a while for Lyon to really start holding that grudge, it only makes sense for it to take time for all of that to be undone. So you gotta decide if you really want it, because you’ll need to commit to it, even if you’re not getting results.” 

“You make it sound so easy; just keep trying. You have no idea how hard it is to live in his shadow,” Gray lamented. “Everytime I try to be nicer, he just…. He gets under my skin and I lose it.”

Juvia couldn’t help but smile at that. Slowly she padded across the kitchen floor, setting her mug down on the island counter, and climbed onto the chair next to him. She leaned into him, murmuring as if she was sharing some big secret, “You know that’s funny, because he says exactly the same thing about you.”

Gray snorted. “Lyon does not live in my shadow.”

“You say that, but you’re the popular one.” 

“Yeah, sure, I’m popular with our peers, but not with teachers, not here at home. Lyon’s always been the good kid. He’s never let me forget it, even now.” 

“Do you think anyone else lets him forget he’s an outcast? Because I just watched your friends terrorize him, all because he didn't fit into their narrow minded view of what a man should be.”

“They aren't my friends,” Gray snapped, glancing away as he did.

“They were.”

Gray glared down at the counter. “Yeah well, it's kinda hard to be on the hockey team without befriending your teammates.” 

Juvia hummed an agreement. “Yeah, I guess. But isn't it exhausting to have to constantly pretend to be an asshole just to be accepted?”

“Sometimes.” Gray looked up at her, locking eyes. “Isn't it exhausting constantly having to fight with people because you aren't?”

Juvia smirked. “Sometimes, but I spent a lot of time being the good kid and trying to fit in, and neither was worth the effort I put into it. At least now I'm exhausting myself for things that Matter to me.”

“Pretty sure you're still a good kid. My parents certainly think so.”

“Yeah, well, old habits die hard,” Juvia mumbled. “Besides, Lyon matters to me, and the rest of you matter to him. So I have to try.” 

Gray studied her for a moment, just the slightest furrow in his brow. “You didn't have to try with me. I'm pretty sure he'd prefer it if you didn't.”

Juvia sighed, shaking her head. Back to this again. “You say that, he says that, but today at the mall, he was happy. Maybe he wasn't initially, and yeah the whole thing with your friends ruined it, but there was an hour in there where he was happy to be out with you.”

Gray stared at her, blinking rapidly before a small smile crept onto his face. “Yeah well, he wasn’t the only one. It was nice, just getting to talk to him, I don’t think we’ve ever done that, so thanks.”

Juvia nodded, offering him a small smile. “No problem, I had fun too. Or at least as much fun as anyone can have shopping in a crowded mall seven days before Christmas.”

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad.”

Juvia just rolled her eyes. “Maybe not for you, but it’s definitely not my idea of a good time. I avoid any sort of shopping after Halloween. Everywhere you go stores are blaring Christmas music and everyone starts wishing you a Merry Christmas. I mean there’s still a whole month to the holiday, but it doesn’t matter, they’ll wish it to you anyways.” 

“Wow, someone sounds like a Grinch,” Gray chuckled. “Guess you’re not the festive type then?”

“Can’t say that I am,” Juvia admitted. 

Gray shook his head. “Well you’re in the wrong house for that kind of attitude, Christmas is a pretty big deal here.”

She sighed, averting her gaze and fidgeting with the tea bag tag. “I've noticed.”

Gray leaned towards her, nudging her shoulder with his. She peered up at him and he offered her a sweet smile. “Hey, it’ll be fun. You're gonna love it, I promise.”

Her eyes darted back to her tea as she nodded, humming an agreement. She didn't trust herself with a verbal response. 

She held back the sigh that threatened to fall from her lips. He wouldn't understand. There were exactly three people in her life that had, and the only one still around was Gajeel. Only he wasn't here either. 

She shoved the storm of emotions that were swelling up inside of her back down. She turned to face Gray, forcing a grin into place. “So, you drive a bike, huh?”


	7. Omissions and Minor Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyon and Juvia start to plan for Lyon's date and then come home to a few unexpected guests.

* * *

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and bacon wafted through the air of the small diner. It was around eleven in the morning, just before the usual lunch hour rush. Lyon and Juvia were currently tucked away in a corner booth, a coffee for him, a tea for her, a plate of fries and a slice of pecan pie resting in the middle of the table between them. 

“So,” Juvia started, once their waitress had left them, “this date, it's with that guy you've been talking to right? The one from the dating site?”

Lyon flushed, but nodded. 

Juvia’s eyes lit up, and a smirk curve onto her lips. “The one you said you were just talking to, because you weren't interested in dating anyone from your home town?”

“Yes,” Lyon replied with a grimace.

“Ha! I called it! I knew you liked him.” 

Lyon rolled his eyes in response, but allowed Juvia to have her moment. She had indeed called it. 

He'd been chatting with Mered for almost a year now. The younger man having reached out because of Lyon’s hometown, despite them not sharing a location. At first Lyon has been hesitant, he really was only interested in dating locally, and wanted next to nothing to do with anyone from home. Never mind the fact that the boy had been in high school. 

But Mered had been quick to assure Lyon that he wasn't looking for someone to date. He simply wanted someone who could help him navigate being gay and living up in their area. Someone who could relate to the difficulty of it. 

Needless to say Lyon had agreed, and somewhere along the way he'd grown pretty fond of Mered. Maybe a little more than fond. There might have been some not so subtle flirting over the last few months, as Mered started college. 

So when he'd mentioned coming home for Christmas, and Mered had asked about meeting, Lyon hadn't thought twice about it.

“Okay, so I'm done gloating. I get to meet him right? You have to tell me more about him! He’s a first year right?”

Lyon chuckled at Juvia’s excitement. It was nice, having someone to share this with. She reminded him of his Mom, when he'd first announced he was dating Sherry. 

“Of course you get to meet him, and yeah, he's in his first year of college,” Lyon replied. “He works as a ticket agent for Mirvish, that's the big theatre company out here, so bonus for me. Umm, what else? Oh, he’s studying legal aid at the college over in Edelweiss, has a big sister-”

“So what’s his favourite musical?” Juvia interjected, eyes lit up excitedly. 

Lyon reached up and threaded his fingers through his hair, scratching the back of his head. Leave it to Juvia to pick up on the theatre comment, she was almost as bad as he was. 

“Well, it's a bit obscure. You might not know it.” Or at least he hoped she didn't. 

The skeptical look she offered him didn't help with his nerves. Despite never having the opportunity to actually go watch anything live she’d somehow managed to know and watch more musicals than he had. 

“Try me.” 

Lyon took a deep breath. “Evil Dead the Musical.”

Juvia blinked at him, and in the brief moment of silence, he thought she might actually not know the play. That is until a horrible shit eating grin spread across her lips. 

“So… his favorite musical, is a campy horror satire. The only musical in the world with a splatter zone. And yet you still agreed to go on a date with him?” 

Lyon grimaced and a small groan escaped his lips. 

Juvia’s laughter pealed throughout the dinner, drawing the attention of other patrons as she clutched her stomach, and curled over on herself. She was practically falling out of their booth. 

Lyon could feel his cheeks burn in response and he shot her a glare, folding his arms across his chest, to signify this wasn't a laughing matter, but she just kept going. He let out a huff, “Honestly, it’s not that funny.” 

“Oh yes it is!” she crowed, trying to muffle her laughter a bit through her hand. “You loath comedic musicals. You think they make a mockery of the art that is theatre.” 

“I don’t sound like that!” he growled.

Juvia shrugged and giggled at him. “Close enough.”

Lyon’s eyes narrowed, annoyed at her mocking him. He reached out and grabbed a fry, and whipped it across the table. It hit her in the cheek, bring her most recent fit of giggles to a halt as she stared at him in shock. He smirked at her, pleased that a small splatter of ketchup that stained her cheek. 

“Did you just throw a French fry at me?”

“Yep,” he confirmed, “you're too far to tickle and if I kicked you you'd just kick my ass, so it seemed like the most effective response.”

She just smiled and shook her head, grabbing a napkin to wipe her cheek. “I'm sorry, but you've got to admit it is pretty funny! I mean, you must really like him to actually still agree to a date.” 

Lyon blushed and decided that the view off the street was suddenly fascinating.

Juvia leaned forward and placed her hand over his, and he glanced towards her. She smiled back brightly. “It's okay to really like him.”

“I know, I just….” He sighed, unsure how to explain the feelings behind the knot his stomach was in.

“You just haven't actually liked anyone or gone out on a real date since your ex broke up with you?” Juvia supplied. 

Lyon nodded in response, threading his fingers through his hair with his free hand.. 

Juvia gently squeezed the hand she was holding. “I know you're nervous but it’ll be fine. To be honest it's about time you tried to move forward, and I've known for a while that you've liked him so I'm glad you're giving it a chance. You always smile more after you two have talked, you're happier, lighter. It's all good things Lyon. Don't let fear stand in your way.”

“Says the girl who hasn't gone out in three months because of a breakup.” Lyon countered.

Juvia grimaced and sunk into the booth seat just a bit more. “Yeah, well, it's been a year and a half for you. And it's not like I haven't wanted to go out, be we usually go to Hargeon and the last thing I want is to run into him with someone else. It was painful enough the first time.”

Lyon nodded in understanding. “Well, he’s half a country away now, so I guess that means we’re going out dancing.”

“Do they even have clubs out here?” Juvia teased.

“Eh, more like country bars. But you can still dance in them. I know, not really your style but hey, at least it's Bora free.”

Juvia giggled. “Well I'm sold. It's been way too long and I think we've both earned a night out.”

“Definitely!” Lyon seconded, “so about tomorrow…”

Lyon settled in as they started to plan the next day. Despite his anxiety and reservations he knew Juvia was right. Mered was special, and he couldn't help but feel his excitement build. 

He was going on a date with a cute boy, right next to his home town. It was something he'd never imagined being possible, but it was happening tomorrow, and he couldn't imagine it feeling more right.

* * *

Loud shouts echoed from the livingroom as Juvia followed Lyon into the house. She watched as Lyon tensed, before he handed her his jacket and strode towards the room on the right to investigate. 

Juvia sighed, and quickly hung their coats in the closet and started tugging her boots off urgently, having noticed Lyon frozen in the doorway. 

“Yo, Lyon! Welcome back!” A male voice called out, as she finally got her boots off. 

“Lyon? What the hell are you doing here?” Juvia would recognize that voice anywhere and a smile spread instantly across her face as she rushed forward. 

“Uhh,” Lyon was standing stock still, trying to respond, as Juvia pushed passed him.

Wild messy black hair came into view along with a face covered in piercings. He was sitting on the floor, a few feet away, between the coffee table and TV. His eyes were focused on the TV screen and there was a controller in his hands, but they flicked in her direction with the additional movement. 

“G-Gajeel?” Their eyes met, and she launched herself across the distance, tackling him in a hug. 

He managed to brace himself in time, keeping them from ending up sprawled across the floor, but he grunted with the force and let out a growl of frustration.

“Oi! What the fuck! Get off me you crazy woman.” He grunted, shoving her with his right arm in an attempt to remove her. He clutched the controller tighter, attempting to keep playing despite her clinging.

Juvia clutched him tighter, locking his arm in a vice grip. “But I missed you!”

“So? Can't you see I'm busy trying to kick Salamander’s ass?” 

Juvia frowned at that. “So what, you're too busy with some video game to even greet me? Didn't you miss me?”

Gajeel stiffened at her tone, but glared down at her in response. “Hard to miss you when you're so clingy.”

“Oh is that so?” Juvia huffed, glowering at him. She was going to make him eat those words! Without waiting for a response she reached up and grabbed his ear, and tugged down on it.

“Ow! Fuck woman, let go!” Gajeel howled, abandoning the controller to defend himself. His elbow hit her side and she flinch, grateful he didn't have that much room to get momentum. 

“Not until you say you missed me!” She kept her hold on his ear, careful not to pull harder, but maintaining the pressure. 

“Like hell I-”

“KO! Kilik wins!” The TV announced. 

“Fuck! That doesn't count!” Gajeel snapped.

“Hell yes it does!” The pink haired man beside him countered.

“No it doesn't! I was being distracted!”

“So! Lucy distracts me all the time, and those still count!”

“Lucy isn't trying to rip your ear off!”

Juvia rolled her eyes, she’d released him upon his loss, figuring that was a reasonable punishment for trying to dismiss her. “I wasn't gonna rip your ear off. Besides none of that would have been necessary had you just admitted you missed me.”

“Well maybe I would have if you hadn't tackle me mid match!” Gajeel yelled, “now I have to listen to this moron act like he actually beat me.” He rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb at the man beside him, as though it wasn’t clear who he was referring to. 

Said man smirked in response. “I totally did,” he announced, before he turned to grin at Juvia raising his hand up. “Nice assist, by the way.”

Juvia smiled back, and high fived him. “Happy to help.”

“Oi! No fraternizing with the enemy! You’re supposed to be on my side.” Gajeel growled. 

Juvia rolled her eyes at him. “Since when? I’m pretty sure I’m just supposed to kick your ass and put you in your place.”

“I can attest to that being what sisters do best.” Lyon interjected. 

Juvia felt her cheeks flush. She’d all but forgotten he was there, along with several other strangers. She glanced over her shoulder at Lyon and offered him a sheepish grin. 

“Shut up snowflake, she doesn’t need encouragement.” Gajeel told him. 

“So wait, you’re his sister?” Pinky asked, eyebrow quirked at the two of them. He didn’t pause long enough for either of them to answer before plowing forward, “Sorry ‘bout your luck. I’m Natsu by the way.” He pointed behind him to the armchair Gray was lounging on. “That’s Gray.”

“She knows who I am idiot. She’s staying here with Lyon,” Gray huffed.

Natsu shrugged. “Right. Whatever, anyways that’s Lucy,” he announced, pointing to the blond on the couch, “she’s my girlfriend. And that’s Gajeel’s girlfriend Levy.”

Juvia locked eyes with the petite blue haired girl, sitting next to the blonde. She fought to stifle an excited squeak as she scooted across the floor to kneel in front of the couch. Her hands grabbed Levy’s and she offered the other girl a brilliant smile. “It's so great to finally meet you! Gajeel has been gushing about you for a while now.”

“He has?” Levy asked, eyes wide.

“I do not!” Gajeel defended.

Juvia rolled her eyes. “Maybe not like a normal person, but you talked about her more than you talked about your first guitar, and you had almost nothing insulting to say. That's you gushing.”

Gajeel let out a low, rumbling growl, but said nothing. He knew he was outmatched.

Juvia offered Levy a brilliant grin. “See? Trust me, he gushes. He’s just a giant dork who doesn’t know how to say what he’s feeling and thus needs prompting.” She shot Gajeel a dirty look over her shoulder. “Like when to admit he’s missed someone.”

“Not happening.” He deadpanned.

“Well I guess now we know the real reason why he never wanted you to meet her,” Lucy whispered, elbowing Levy with a smirk. “Told you not to worry about it.”

A delicate blush spread across Levy’s cheeks, and she offered a Juvia a shy smile. “Yeah, he is pretty quiet. But it's really nice to finally meet you too, he actually talks about you all the time.” 

“Oh?” Juvia glanced over Gajeel, who shrugged in response. 

“Yep,” Natsu chimed in, “he’s always going on about his super crazy foster sister.” 

Juvia froze. Her heart was hammering in her ears and she felt like she’d just been hit in the chest and winded. 

“Wait, I thought you said you lived with your family in Oaktown? That you had a large one?” Gray asked. His brow was furrowed and those dark eyes felt like they were staring straight into her soul.

She shrugged and bit her lip. “Foster family, regular family; not everyone feels the need to differentiate.”

A growl resonated from Gajeel, and she could feel his agitation. “When the hell have you ever consider any of those bastards family? I thought you were done lying about this shit.” 

Juvia flinched. Everyone was staring at her now, and she just wanted to disappear. 

“So when you were talking about your Dad yesterday?” Gray asked. 

“Easy, easy.” Lyon stepped up beside her. “Look, sometimes Juvia refers to the people at the home she used to live in as members of her family to avoid unwanted questions. It’s hardly a big deal.”

“You still think that? Even after her telling you about her parents?” Gajeel grumbled.

There was moment of silence as Lyon’s brows furrowed in confusion. Juvia held her breath, silently cursing Gajeel. He had a bad habit of asking way too many blunt questions. 

“Of course I do. Not everyone is comfortable telling others to f-off or to mind their own business. In fact, most people consider that rude.” 

Juvia felt relief wash through her body. Even if Gajeel's words provoked questions or doubts, Lyon had never once failed to take her side. He never once bothered to question her choices, and for that she was grateful. 

“It's rude to ask prying questions.” Gajeel countered.

Juvia sighed and fixed him with a pointed look. “Yes, but that doesn't mean they won't ask them.” 

“So what? They can just be rude to ya, but you gotta be nice? I've told you before, that's bullshit logic.” 

“So is being rude because someone else was rude first. It's called being the bigger person,” Juvia lectured. 

Gajeel scoffed. “Avoiding the topic altogether doesn't make you the bigger person.”

“No, but it still makes me more tactful than you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gajeel waved her off. Suddenly a grin appeared on his face, and Juvia tensed, realizing she’d leaned in as they were arguing. Before she could pull back Gajeel’s arm swept up and wrapped around her neck, pulling her right up against his side and trapping her there. She let out a yelp of pain as his knuckles dug into her scalp and dragged across it. She struggled in the head lock, pinching and punching as he continued to noogie her. His distinct cackle filled the room. 

Finally he released her from his hold and she fell across his lap with a grunt. She snapped her head up to glare at him only to find herself glaring through a curtain of tangled blue locks, effectively rendering her attempt at intimidation useless.

“Gihihi,” Gajeel grinned down at her, before placing a large hand over her face and pushing her hair back and out of the way, his hand coming to rest on the crown of her head. “Missed you too, crazy woman.”

Juvia tried to fight off the smile that was creeping onto her lips, but it was a lost battle from the start. She loved Gajeel, and no matter how much he tried to torment her that would never change. 

“Aww looks like Gajeel has a soft spot for blue haired girls,” Lucy teased. “Lucky for you Levy.”

“Lu!” Levy flushed a bright shade of red as Natsu and Gray burst into laughter. Even Lyon was snickering, although he had the decency to hide his grin behind his hand. 

“Better be careful metal head! Levy and Lyon might get the wrong impression if you keep being all soft.” Natsu crowed.

Gajeel scoffed, and opened his mouth to retort, and Juvia’s heart stopped for a second. She quickly jabbed his side, halting his words as he glared down at her. Her throat was dry and her heartbeat was frantic as she sent him a pleading look. He raised a studded brow, and she bit her lip in response. He knew what it meant, years of covering for each other had given them a sign language all their own. Whether he’d agree to play along though was something she found herself unsure of. 

“You and Lyon are dating?” The question was from Levy, who was glancing between Juvia and Lyon questioningly. 

“Yep,” Juvia chimed, with as much confidence as she could, “have been for a while now.”

She could feel Gajeel staring her down, and a quick glance at Lyon let her know he was all too aware of their predicament. 

“Really? Gajeel never mentioned you having a boyfriend.” Levy continued, and Juvia felt like her heart had dropped into her stomach. 

Lucy’s sudden fit of giggles drew everyone’s attention. “Sounds like a certain big brother doesn’t approve of his little sister’s dating choice.” 

Juvia could have kissed Lucy in that moment. She glanced up at Gajeel and offered him another pleading look. She needed him to play along.

Gajeel let out a sigh and shook his head. “Nah, she’s dated worse. I just don’t want to think about it. As far as I’m concerned she doesn’t date, or do anything else for that matter.” 

Juvia wanted to collapse in relief, but she could still feel Levy’s questioning gaze. It was time to change the subject, and fast. “Of course I don’t! Me? Never.” She squirmed out of Gajeel’s lap and hopped up from the floor. “Anyways, I’m getting hungry and I promised Lyon lunch so I better get started.”

“Woo! Lunch time!” Natsu cheered, punching his fist in the air. 

“Oi! Who said she’s feeding you?” Gajeel snapped.

Juvia smiled, he may live to torment her, but he was also super protective of her in his own way, even if sometimes it wasn’t necessary. “I don’t mind, I made a bunch of soup earlier so I just need to heat it up. There should be enough for everyone if you’re all getting hungry,” she offered.

“That’s really not necessary, we don’t want to cause you any extra trouble,” Levy insisted.

Juvia smiled at her in response. “It’s not any trouble at all. I’ll even make some grilled cheese sandwiches.” 

“Alright! You’re the best!” Natsu cheered, as the others offered their own thanks. 

Gajeel let out another growl of disagreement, and Juvia gave him a firm nudge with her foot. Not quite hard enough for her to really call it a kick. 

“What?” He grumbled.

“Come on, give me a hand in the kitchen.” 

“Fuck no, you just said it wasn’t any trouble to make extra food. What the hell do you need my help for?” Gajeel protested.

Juvia reached down and grabbed his ear pulling up on it. Gajeel yelped in pain as he quickly started to stand. “I spent five years cooking all of your meals, the least you can do to repay me is help when I tell you to.” 

“Fine. I said fine, crazy woman, now let my ear go!” 

Juvia released him, and made her way towards the kitchen knowing he would follow. After all, he had questions he wanted answers to.

* * *

Juvia could feel Gajeel’s eyes boring into her back as she pulled the pot of soup from the fridge.

“I thought he was gay?” 

Juvia paused, unsure exactly what to make of the question. “He is.” 

“Okay, well, good to know you weren’t lying to me; care to explain why you’re lying to his folks?”

“Do I have to?” She offered him a sheepish look, as she placed the soup on the stove top, and turned the burner on. 

“Would be nice since I’m now covering for your ass, and I gotta explain it to Levy later.”

Juvia let out a sigh. “He’s not out to his family.” 

“Obviously,” Gajeel deadpanned. “Doesn’t explain why he needs a girlfriend.”

Juvia rolled her eyes. “I was getting to that. Anyways, it’s a small town, and people here are backwards. The kids he went to high school with have been harassing him for years. Calling him gay all because he’s into musicals, and likes dancing. And before you say anything, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting some of Gray’s old hockey team yesterday and it was bad. Similar to what Toto went through when he first came out.”

Gajeel’s face scrunched up in disgust. “You’re kidding right?” 

Juvia shook her head and sighed again. “I wish. I mean, no one was violent, but Lyon’s really passive. Plus he’s not out. I’m not sure what it would be like if he was.” 

Gajeel ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the island next to where she stood. “‘Kay I get it. You’re looking out for him. Any reason you can’t tell his family though?”

“I just don’t think he’s ready.”

Gajeel grunted, and shifted against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “You did tell him about your parents right?”

Juvia gritted her teeth. This again. “Yes.” 

“Everything?” He was staring down at her, eyes boring holes into her skull.

She looked up from the pot of soup she’d been stirring, locking eyes with him. “Of course,” she huffed.

“Oi, don’t give me attitude. I wouldn’t put it past you to have lied about that. I know you didn’t want to tell him.” 

Guilt stirred in her chest, but Juvia didn’t allow her gaze to waver from his. “Well, I did it anyways.”

“You should tell his family too,” Gajeel urged.

“Not happening,” Juvia growled, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Why the hell not?” 

A million reasons jumped out at her. The foremost being that she hadn’t actually told Lyon, but she wasn’t about to tell Gajeel that. Nor could she tell him that she just wasn’t comfortable; which should be reason enough for anyone, really, just not for Gajeel. 

“Because Christmas is a big deal in this house, and it’s the first time in two years that Lyon’s home for it. I just want all of them to be able to relax and enjoy it. I’ll be fine, I’ve gotten better at handling my emotions, I even went Christmas shopping yesterday. Guess what? No issues. And Lyon knows what’s up, so if I need to get some air he’ll understand and handle it. So no worries, we’ve got this.” Juvia offered him a reassuring smile, but Gajeel just continued to frown at her in response. 

“That’s a terrible reason not to tell ‘em Juvs. If you freak out, no one’s gonna be enjoying themselves. And I don’t care how much you try to convince yourself and everyone else that you’re fine, I know you’re not. You never truly are this time of year, and that’s okay. They’ll understand.” His large hand covered hers and he squeezed lightly.

“Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of,” she confessed. 

Gajeel raised a questioning brow in response. 

“I’m not Lyon’s real girlfriend. Maybe he’s not ready to come out now, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get there, and when he does… all of this goes away. I’m just temporary, but they don’t know that, and all of them are being really nice, and warm and…. It just feel so much like when I lived with Matthew and Caroline. But I wasn’t permanent there either, and I just can’t… okay? I can’t do that all over again.” She fought to blink back the tears, but couldn’t hold them all back, and a few managed to streak down her cheeks. 

“Juvia….” His voice was laced with concern and sympathy, and she hated it. She’d just been talking about how she was going to be able to handle this and here she was crying not a minute later. 

“Don’t. I’m fine,” she declared, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Look, this is different. I’m not a little kid anymore desperate for any kind of affection or approval I can get. I know they’re Lyon’s family, not mine. And he belongs here, not back in Margaret Town. So if me being by his side is what it takes to keep him here, then so be it. But I don’t want to get caught up in this act and get too comfortable. Not when I know it’s all going to disappear in two weeks.”

Gajeel scoffed, and draped an arm about her waist, dragging her into a hug. “You’re completely crazy and really dumb.”

Juvia nodded against his chest. “I know.”

“But you’re also a really good friend. Just promise me you’ll at least take Thursday and Friday? Just sit around and chill?” 

“Definitely.” 

“I’ll even come by with Levy on Friday,” he offered, “check up on you and we can do our usual thing. Although I think we’ll have to order something different, cause the chinese food in this town is awful, and if I bring some from Magnolia it’ll just get cold and that’s gross.” 

Juvia smiled at that. “Sounds good, we can do pizza. They shouldn’t be able to screw that up too badly.” 

“Gihi. They better not.” 

Juvia took a deep breath and snuggled deeper into the hug, taking a moment to enjoy the rare offering off affection. He may not offer a lot of hugs, but somehow, Juvia always felt like they ended up being the best hugs she’d ever gotten.

“So, now that you’re done distracting me, go get the cheese from the fridge and start cutting. These grilled cheese sandwiches aren’t going to make themselves,” she teased.

“You’re a bitch.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Hey Gajeel?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks.”

* * *

Lyon glanced towards the hall, trying to ignore the ball of anxiety that had rooted itself in his stomach the second Juvia had dragged Gajeel from the room. He was grateful that Gajeel had kept quiet about their relationship, but he had no idea if the man would stay quiet. There was no doubt in Lyon’s mind that’s what they were talking about, and the fact that they’d been gone for so long was starting to worry him.

Gray had grabbed Gajeel’s controller and had promptly started kicking Natsu’s ass at Soul Calibur, while Lyon had collapsed onto the loveseat and began chatting with Lucy and Levy. At various points Natsu had asked Lyon whether or not he’d like to sub in, or just ask questions about Lyon’s life. Honestly, Lyon had almost forgotten how much he liked Natsu. Sure he was annoying at times, and other times he was a complete moron, but Natsu had always treated him like one of the guys. Lyon was glad that whatever was going on with Gray and his friends hadn’t extended to Natsu. 

It occurred to him, suddenly, that the list of people giving Gray rides home happened to be all of their elementary school friends. Friends from a time when Gray was the biggest pain in the ass Lyon had to deal with. 

He had to smile a little, it had been a shitty time in both their lives, but he’d genuinely cared about Gray back then. Sure, he’d been a pain in the ass, picking fights with anyone and everyone, but Lyon had understood why. He’d felt the same way; angry at the world for all that his family was going though. He just had better control over those emotions. Still, his fights with Gray had provided an outlet for something he hadn’t believed he needed. For all that Lyon had chastised him, he’d never truly resented Gray. If anything, he was jealous of Gray’s reckless abandon. 

Of course, it had all changed when Gray joined the hockey team in junior high, but for the first time in years Lyon felt like he could see a little bit of the kid he'd once thought of as family. 

“Oi! What the hell man, stop being so cheap!” Gray cried.

Lyon glanced up at the tv, and watched as Natsu’s character had locked Gray’s down with a punch kick combo that he was now spamming mercilessly. 

It was cheap, but highly effective, and Lyon was more than tired of Gray's gloating. “Yeah Natsu! Kick his ass!” 

“Shut up Lyon!”

“KO! Kilik wins!” 

“Shit!” Gray hissed and slammed his controller down on the armrest of the recliner.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lyon caught Gajeel and Juvia carrying trays of soup and sandwiches through the front foyer towards them. 

“Ha! Undefeatable my ass! I just owned you!” Natsu crowed.

“Only because you were spamming that move. It was a cheap win.”

“Doesn't matter it's still a win.” Natsu grinned shamelessly. 

Gray glowered at him. “It's gay is what it is.”

Lyon winced, as a surge of anxiety welled up from his stomach. 

“Juvia... don't start.”

The whole room's attention was drawn to the living room entrance at Gajeel’s comment. He was frowning down at Juvia who was completely rigid, and glaring at Gray. 

Lyon held his breath, as she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes as she held that breath for a moment, before letting it go. She was still frowning but her stance was just a little more relaxed. 

She fixed Gray with a stare. “That's a horrible thing to say.”

Gray's face twisted into a frown of his own. “Relax, it's just a saying. I don't get what you're so upset about, it's not like I directed it at someone.”

Gajeel and Lyon groaned in unison, as Juvia bristled over the remark. There would be no stopping her now, and Lyon wasn’t sure who he was more annoyed at. Sure, he normally didn’t mind Juvia taking Gray down a few notches, but certain things just weren’t worth the fight. All she was going to accomplish here was pissing off Gray and inadvertently putting a spotlight on Lyon, himself. 

“No, it’s directed at a whole group of people,” Juvia seethed. “People you’re deriding by implying there’s something inherently bad about being gay.”

“That isn’t what I meant, don’t twist my words around on me.” 

“Then what exactly did you mean? What else could you possibly have been trying to say when you told Natsu that his win was gay?”   
“I-” Gray paused, his brow furrowed in thought. “I had just said that it was a cheap way to win. That’s all.”

“A cheap way to win; meaning it was contemptible, dishonest, pitiable? That’s what you meant by it was gay, but you fail to see how that’s an insult to gay people? Really?” Juvia shook her head, contempt written on her face. 

“Ugh. No! That’s not what I mean at all. It’s just a saying, everyone says it,” Gray snapped, running a hand through his hair. 

“Everyone says it. Stupid lemming mentality,” Juvia grumbled, with a roll of her eyes. “If everyone jumped off a cliff would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Well then it’s not a good reason is it?”

“Juvia, that’s enough.” Gajeel growled. He set the tray down on the coffee table before stepping in between her and Gray.

“How about this for a good reason,” Gray snapped, “it’s my house and I can say whatever the fuck I want!”

“Just because it’s your house doesn’t mean you get to make other people uncomfortable!” Juvia shot back. 

Lyon flinched. This was quickly getting out of control, and was completely unnecessary. Sure the comment bothered him, but that didn’t mean she needed to get into a shouting match over it. He didn’t care what Gray thought about gay people, he didn’t care what Gray thought period. 

“Juvs you need to calm-” Gajeel was interrupted by Gray’s next outburst.

“If anyone here is uncomfortable with what I say they can come out and say so themselves.” Gray’s eyes were locked with Lyon’s, almost as if to call him out, and a cold chill shot down Lyon’s spine. He knew Gray was probably just looking for him to intervene, but it felt like so much more. 

Lyon turned to look at Juvia, who was visibly shaking at this point, and in a stare down with Gajeel. He knew she wasn’t gonna stop and it frustrated him to no end, because for once he really wished she’d let it go. 

“Juvia, that’s enough.” Her head whipped around to face him and he was surprised to find that her eyes were glassy, but held his ground. “Look I know you feel about human rights issues, and that you take them to heart, but you don’t have to fight every single battle, especially when it’s not your own.”

Pain and sadness were written all over her face as she glared back at him, and he could see the tears welling up in her eyes even as she blinked them back. For a moment, everything seemed frozen, and Lyon couldn’t help but feel like he’d just done something awful. 

Then all at once she shoved the tray into Gajeel’s hands, the big man fumbling to keep it from falling, as she took a step towards Lyon. 

She glared at him, and her whole body shook with the effort to contain her emotions. “Did it ever, ever occur to you, even once in the last year and a half, that the reason I speak up is because it bothers me? That maybe I’m speaking for myself more than anyone else? Can I speak up for myself here, or are you the only person that I’m allowed to defend in this house?” 

Lyon stood there, staring at her in disbelief. He wanted to say something, anything, to make it better, but there was a lump in his throat and he couldn’t find any words adequate enough. Not when the tears started rolling down her cheeks. Finally she took a shaky step backwards, then another, then one more, before turning and fleeing upstairs. All he could do was stare after her, and flinch when he heard his room door slam. 

He still wasn’t sure exactly where he’d gone wrong, but Lyon was certain that a simple apology wasn’t going to fix it.


	8. All Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gray gets called out, and Lyon and Juvia have a heart to heart.

* * *

It seemed like time stood still after Juvia had stormed out of the room. There was an awkward tension as everyone glanced around at each other, unsure of what to do. Lyon desperately wanted to go after her, but he had no idea what to say, or what he could do to remedy the situation. He wasn’t even entirely sure what had set her off so badly. 

It was a grunt from Gajeel that finally broke through the silence and Lyon glanced over, only to find the man glaring back at him reproachfully. “You had no right to tell her this ain’t her fight.”

Lyon frowned, some of his original frustration sparking back to life. Sure, Juvia deserved some respect on the matter, she was most definitely an ally and a good one, but that didn’t make this her fight. Certainly her feelings on the matter didn’t just get to trump his. “Look I know she feels really strongly about human rights and all, bu-”

“Shut it,” Gajeel growled, “Just shut up, you have no idea what you’re talking about. You think this is just some human rights thing, but it’s not. It’s personal to her. Hell, it’s kinda personal to me too. Oaktown is a shit place to be different, people are just looking for a reason to fight. One of our best friends from high school is gay, and he was out.   
“You have no idea what it was like to watch how things changed for him. The first time he spoke up for himself, he just asked some guys not to say ‘that’s gay’ and got the shit beaten out of him. Juvia just happened to be the one who found him, and it was lucky she did. He was in critical care for a week.”

“Oh my god.” Lucy’s hand flew up to cover her mouth and Lyon thought she looked a bit pale. 

“Asshole cops didn’t do anything about it either, even though they knew who did it. So yeah, she takes issue to people talking like that. Where we come from you can get killed for being different, they’re just looking for a reason.” 

“That’s awful,” Levy whispered. 

Lyon felt his blood run cold. He’d known Juvia had lived in a bad neighbourhood, but to have had one of her friends hospitalized over a simple request…. 

His mind was drawn back to her encounter with Bacchus and how ready she’d been for a real fight. He’d always thought he’d had it bad here, that the stories of people getting beaten for being gay was a thing of the past, but for Juvia it was a reality. She’d been ready to fight, because that’s what she’d expected to happen, and she’d stepped in anyways. Five guys in front of her, and she hadn’t backed down. 

“I hope you kicked the asses of the guys that beat him up. You didn’t just let them get away with that shit, right?” Natsu asked, slamming his fist down on the coffee table. 

Gajeel grimaced. “Of course I did. Not that I had much choice, Juvia practically declared war after what happened to Totomaru.”

“Wait, what? When did this happen?” Lucy asked with a frown.

“I dunno, close to three years ago? Why?” 

“Because I saw this on the news. My dad was in Oaktown for some business meeting about leaked documents from Phantom industries, he took me along with him. I remember watching this on the news! Some kid got stabbed in broad daylight and the police tried to cover it up, only it got out because the next day they tried to jump his friend, that had found him because she called them out at school.” Lucy was practically bouncing on the couch at this point, somewhere between horrified and excited. “I remember because my dad was thrilled about it, since the girl was his business associates foster daughter. All the press it got completely overshadowed the scandal, and I just remember being horrified that he was happy because two kids had been beaten!”

“Please,” Gajeel scoffed, “Juv’s had a couple cracked ribs and some bruises. It just looked bad. The punks that went after her were way worse off. The only reason we didn’t get charged was ‘cause Jose had the media eating Juvia’s every word and the police were desperate to have the reporters gone.” 

“But she was in hysterics in those interviews.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes people ain’t what they appear to be.” Gajeel replied, his eyes locking with Lyon’s as he said it. 

“She never told me about any of that.” Lyon confessed.

“What else is new?” Gajeel spat. 

Lyon flinched at the comment, as unease rolled in his stomach. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Juvia kept secrets, she’d been pretty upfront about not wanting to talk about her parents and her early childhood, and he respected that. She’d willingly told him she’d lived in foster care for most of her life and she’d been pretty open about her life back at The Spirit of the Lord, so he wasn’t about to push for more. He knew she’d tell him when she was ready, they trusted each other like that. But he just couldn’t understand why she’d not told him about her friend being gay, and what she’d been through. For the first time Lyon wondered if maybe Gajeel had a point about Juvia’s need for secrecy being something detrimental. 

He let out a sigh and took a step towards the stairs, eager to go and check on her, only to be stopped by a large hand pressed against his chest. He looked up at Gajeel with a confused frown. 

“Yer gonna wanna wait,” he warned. “Give her some time to cool off. If you go up there now it’s just gonna be screaming and tears.”

“But-”

“She’ll be fine, just trust me on this. Eat some food, give it an hour, then go. She’ll be a few steps closer to sane,” Gajeel advised. 

Lyon sighed in resignation before flopping back onto the loveseat, reaching out to grab a bowl and a sandwich. 

“And you,” Gajeel continued, pointing at Gray, “oughta leave her alone, if you`ve got an interest in self-preservation.”

Gray rolled his eyes before glaring back at Gajeel. “I don’t get it. If this shit bothers you too, why the hell didn’t you say something about it before now?” 

“Juvia’s the one that did the talking, I prefer the fist to face method,” Gajeel said, cracking his knuckles. “I just know I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I actually went and beat the crap outta you. Fuck if you don’t test my patience some weeks though.”

Gray frowned. “Whatever. You make it sound like I say it all the time.”

“Well, actually….” Lucy trailed off when Gray focused on her and bit down on her lower lip. Gray remained silent, staring at her expectantly. Finally she took a deep breath and continued, “the truth is, you kinda do. I mean, maybe not all the time, but you say it a lot, and it’s kind of offensive.”

Levy let out a hum of agreement as she nodded. 

Gray shifted in his chair, brow knitting deeper as he folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, well, so does Natsu. I don’t see you saying anything to him about it.”

“He did when I first started hanging out with you guys, but I would freak on him once we were alone,” Lucy confessed. “It took a little while, but he eventually stopped saying it.”

Gray inhaled sharply, straightening as he took in Lucy’s words, glancing back and forth between her and Natsu. 

Lyon was riveted. He’d never expected this kind of reaction from people Gray considered friends. Sure Erza and Cana would occasionally call him out on rude comments, but it was mostly just in passing, and it never seemed to register to either Gray or Natsu. Now it seemed like Gray was genuinely considering Lucy’s words, and Lyon couldn’t ignore the surge of anxiety over how the man would react.

“It’s the truth man,” Natsu insisted. “She nearly had my head the first time all three of us hung out together. You remember us fighting that week. You said she was crazy, and that you had no idea what I’d done to piss her off, but if I wanted to get laid I’d should just apologize and do what she wanted.” 

Gray had the decency to blush, as Lucy glared at him. “You’re such an ass.” She hissed and whipped one of the couches throw pillows at him.

Gray managed to catch it, and used it to defect the next one. “Oi, I barely knew you back then. You can’t hold it against me.” 

“We weren’t dating!” 

“So? He told me you were off limits, so I figured he was trying to get some.” 

Lucy blinked before glancing at Natsu. “You did?”

Natsu shrugged and offered her a lopsided grin. “You were cool, the last thing I wanted was him sleeping with you and chasing you off.” 

Gray lowered the pillow in his hands, eyes locked on Lucy and a frown back on his face. “If it bothered you so much why did you say something to Natsu about it, but not to me?” 

Lucy shrugged and let out a sigh. “Honestly? We weren’t that close back then, I didn't think you'd care.”

“But that was ages ago. We’ve been friends for a while now, why haven't you said anything?”

Lucy shot him a guilty look, and Levy decided to answer on her behalf. “Because you'd just get defensive and ignore what we were saying in favour of picking a fight with us.” 

“I would not,” Gray protested, looking incredibly wounded at the accusation. “I can't believe both of you were afraid to say something all this time, I would have been cool about it.”

Both Lucy and Levy quirked an eyebrow at him while Gajeel scoffed. “Like you just were with Juvs?”

“She attacked me,” Gray objected.

“She told you it was a horrible thing to say, compared to what I screamed at Natsu, I'd say you got off easy.” Lucy contested.

“Lucy's right, it wasn't that bad, but you completely dismissed Juvia for saying it,” Levy agreed, pausing briefly before adding, “can you really say we were wrong in our assumptions? And for that matter can you really blame Juvia for getting upset over your dismissal?”

Gray gaped at the two women. His eyes darted back and forth between them, taking in the weight of their words. Lyon watched him intently, his face contorted as he tried to come up with some response, only to fall short. 

Lyon could pinpoint the moment he gave up, his shoulders sagged and he fell back into the chair. His arms were wrapped securely about himself, and his expression was troubled. Lyon could see the hurt, the guilt, and the discomfort written on Gray's face. It was a rare moment when he could see straight through Gray, as the man's sense of self came crumbling down around him. 

“No.” his voice came out in a hoarse whisper and Gray cleared his throat before repeating himself. “No, I can't.” 

He lifted his head to look the girls in the eye. “I really wish you had said something sooner. Honestly, I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable. Any of you.” He insisted, as he glanced over to the rest of them. 

Lyon immediately glanced away when their eyes met, instinct winning out over compassion before he could really consider an alternative. Some part of Lyon wanted to comfort the man, and felt bad for him; after all it was just how people talked here. But he quickly squelched down the feeling, looking after Gray had gotten him nothing but trouble and zero thanks in the past, and he no reason to believe it would be any different now. Even at his best Gray had never appreciated Lyon’s efforts. 

“It's okay, we know you never meant anything bad by it Gray. That's part of why we just left it.” Lucy explained, moving from her place on the couch to sit on the armrest of his chair. She draped a comforting hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up at her. “We’ve all known you long enough to know you're not that kind of guy. So don't worry about apologizing to us, just figure out a way to apologize to Juvia, ‘kay?”

Gray nodded in response. 

“Tch, good luck,” Gajeel scoffed. “She not just gonna let that go.”

“Any advice?” Gray asked. 

Gajeel huffed and crossed his arms, and Lyon felt a sliver of satisfaction knowing that Gajeel wouldn’t dole out advice to just anyone. 

Sensing that Gajeel wasn’t going to be helpful Gray turned and offered Lyon a pleading look. 

Lyon frowned. “You could try keeping your mouth shut around her, since you seem to piss her off more often than not.” 

He ignored the reproachful looks everyone else shot him. Gray’s expression faltered for a moment, just the slightest flinch, and Lyon had to push away the flicker of guilt he felt. He'd interfered on Gray's behalf twice now with Juvia, and he’d yet to get any sort of thanks from the man. Instead he ended up getting into a fight with her, and upsetting her to the point of tears. So no, he wasn’t helping Gray fix the mess he’d dragged them both into, and he was going to make it clear he was done doing Gray favours. 

“Bribe her with ice cream. She binges on it when she’s pmsing, makes her less cranky. Might help you here.” 

Lyon shot Gajeel a scathing look, feeling thoroughly betrayed by the sudden change of heart. He’d thought they were on the same page, but judging by the way Gajeel was glowering back at him, something about Lyon’s comment had changed his mind. 

“That’s it?” Gray asked.

Gajeel shrugged. “I ain’t fixing this shit for you, you gotta do that yourself. I’m just giving you a chance to try. She ain’t the type to hold a grudge for no reason so if you mean what you say that should be enough. Just don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t, I promise” 

Lyon frowned, Gray wasn’t one to make promises lightly. Sure he’d say all sorts of things, but he reserved those specific words for when he was serious. Some part of Lyon knew he should be happy that Gray cared enough to make the effort, but he couldn’t quite get over how Juvia seemed to have already forgiven the man for everything else without any effort on Gray’s part to make it right. As usual everything was just being handed to Gray, while Lyon was forced to work for what he got.

* * *

Lyon spent the better part of the next twenty minutes sulking quietly on the loveseat, while the others slowly finished their meals and switched the topic of conversation to less heavy things. None of them bothered to engage him, and he tried not to concern himself with the feeling of isolation that was gnawing at him. 

It was clear they didn’t approve of his comment. He could understand why. From an outside perspective it would have seemed harsh, but he didn’t regret saying it, and he wasn’t going to apologize for it. Still, it sucked feeling like an outsider in his own home. The fact that it was an all too familiar feeling, especially when Gray had friends over, didn’t help matters either. 

So once everyone had finished eating he busied himself with collecting the dishes, and took his time rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher. He’d planned on heading upstairs to check on Juvia, and escape the others, but Natsu called out to him as he turned to climb the stairs.

“Yo, Lyon! Where you going? You owe me a match!” 

Lyon offered him a smile before gesturing towards his room with his thumb. “I was going to-”

“I thought I told you to wait; you’re as impatient as she is. Get your ass over here and grab a controller, Salamander wants ya to kick his ass.” Gajeel commanded, holding the controller out towards him. 

Lyon hesitated for a moment, still feeling alienated and unwelcome, but then Natsu smiled at him. “Come on man! I’m all fired up!” 

He let out a sigh, shaking his head as a smile crept onto his face. Despite the lingering bitterness in his heart he couldn’t help but appreciate the effort Natsu made, and thus couldn’t bring himself to spurn him.

* * *

One match turned into several, and Lyon found it rather cathartic to channel all of his bitterness and frustration into the virtual fight between him and the other boys; even if he rarely ended up winning the fight. It took a few matches, but soon he allowed himself to relax, easing back into the banter and other conversation.

It was nearly four when Gajeel and Levy announced they needed to start heading back to Magnolia if they wanted to make it back before dark. 

Levy had offered Lucy and Natsu a ride to his dad’s because Natsu’s car had broken down a few days ago and was still in the shop and Gajeel had agreed to tag along. Only, apparently Natsu had forgotten his key back in his dorm, and thus all four of them had decided on an impromptu hangout session with Gray, since he was only a block and a half away. 

Lyon offered to see them out, since Gray was in the middle of a match against Natsu. Not that Gray would offer otherwise. Appropriate social etiquette had never been something Gray had put an effort into. 

As Gajeel helped Levy into her coat Lyon glanced up the stairs towards his room. The door was still shut, and he felt his chest tighten at the thought of her still crying. 

“You gonna be okay handling that?” 

“Hmm?” Lyon blinked, and cocked his head at Gajeel.

“Juv’s. You good to talk it out with her?”

“Oh. Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time we’ve fought.” Lyon refrained from mentioning that their previous fights had been nothing more than petty bickering, and this time around it was anything but petty. More than ever, he felt like he had something to prove to Gajeel. 

“‘Kay, well, tell ‘er I said bye.” 

Lyon offered him a withering glare.

“I ain’t going up there unless I gotta,” Gajeel insisted. “She can harp at me for it when I see her on Friday.” 

“Friday?” Levy asked, peering up at Gajeel.

He shrugged. “Told her we’d stop by, watch some movies n’ stuff. Figure they’re only an hour away, and it’s a bit of a tradition of ours.” 

“Sure,” Levy replied, then turned to Lyon. “The next day is your family’s Christmas party right?”

Lyon nodded.

“Gray invited us, so I’ll ask Lu if we can spend the night at Natsu’s. That way we don’t have to keep driving back and forth.”

Gajeel grunted in agreement and swung the door open. “Good luck Snowflake.”

As the door swung closed, Lyon turned and headed up the stairs. It felt like every stair emitted a creak of protest to his assent, setting his nerves even more on edge with each step. As he reached the door to his room he paused. Was he supposed to just enter? What if he asked to come in and she turned him away?

Lyon took a deep breath and knocked gently, before reaching down and opening the door just a crack. “Juvia? It’s me, can I come in please?”

There was a long moment of silence that followed, and his chest constricted. He was about to close the door again when he heard her sigh. 

“Y-yeah.” 

Lyon let out the breath he’d been holding, and stepped into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. 

Juvia was curled up on her side of the bed, staring at the wall, with one of the pillows clutched tight to her chest. 

The image tugged at his heartstrings, and he was crossing the room and climbing onto the bed next to her without thought. He propped himself up on one arm, gently laying his free hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” he whispered

Slowly she turned her head towards him, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes were still slightly red from crying, but at least she had stopped at some point. “Hey,” she replied. 

His thumb rubbed circles into her shoulder, before he lifted his arm up and uttered a soft “Comere.”

She turned towards him then, abandoning the pillow to curl up in his arms instead. Relief flooded through him as he wrapped his arm back around her and let his other arm slide forward to act as a pillow for their heads. She snuggled deeper into his chest once he’d settled, and he placed a soft kiss on the crown of her head. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have had your back and I didn’t. I just thought you were upset because of me, and I just didn’t want another fight... I didn’t even think… I- I’m so sorry about your friend.”

Juvia stiffened in his arms. “Gajeel told you?” 

Lyon hummed an agreement, pulling back a bit to look down at her. “Does that really bother you?”

She bit down on her bottom lip and shrugged, refusing to look up at him. 

“I don't get it. Why couldn't you tell me about this? It would have helped explain a lot of your behaviour and maybe I wouldn't have taken what you were saying downstairs so personally.” He paused, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. 

This wasn't how he wanted this conversation to go, but he couldn't help it. It frustrated him that she withheld something like this from him, because he felt guilty now. Guilty for all the times he'd been annoyed with her outbursts. “I thought it was about me. All this time you've let me believe it was about me. Why Juvia?”

“You wouldn't understand.” She pushed against his chest and struggled to pull away from him, but Lyon tightened his grip around her. 

“You could at least give me the chance to try. You keep saying I'm different than everyone else, and that you trust me, so why can't you trust me now?”

“I… I just wanted you to feel special.”

“Okay….” Lyon took a deep breath, trying to quell his initial frustration. He wasn't getting anything else if he lost patience with her. “Sorry, but I'm gonna need a bit more than that.”

She sighed and buried her face into his chest. “We bonded because I defended you. Because I was the first person to do that for you. I just- I thought that if you knew that I did that for Toto you'd feel less special. That maybe it would mean less.” 

Lyon cleared his throat in an attempt to cover up the chuckle that had bubbled up in his throat. It was a ridiculous reason, but he knew better than to admit it. 

“So you thought I'd be upset if I knew I wasn't your first gay friend?” 

“Not upset,” she corrected. “And at first it was just because I didn't want to scare you. Margaret town isn't like Oaktown, and I didn't want you worrying that you'd have to face that kind of harassment. But when I told you about being from foster care you were so happy to be special to me. You said it made you feel better cause you felt like things were one sided between us-” 

“You didn't want to take that away.” Suddenly her worries made a bit more sense. He knew Juvia was really insecure about her relationships with people, he just never thought that applied to him. 

She was the only person in his life that saw all of him. At college he'd become confident and secure. He wore it like armour. Only Juvia knew just how at odds he still was within. 

She sighed and curled back into him. “I told you it was stupid.” 

“Yeah, it's pretty dumb, but only because you should know me better,” he teased. “I need you too much to bail on you over something as silly as that.”

She shifted against him before snuggling deeper into his chest. Her hands fisted his sweater and she tried to stifle the sob that wracked her body. 

Lyon responded by clutching her tighter to him, and began rubbing soothing circles into her back. “Hey, hey. Come on. It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere. You know that.” 

She just sobbed harder, and Lyon sighed in defeat. Best to just let her cry out whatever she was feeling.

* * *

Juvia didn’t allow herself to cry for long. She was honestly sick of it, and done being upset, but Lyon’s words had hit a nerve, and just like that she was sobbing all over again. It was exhausting, and she had to wonder if the lack of sleep from the last two nights had anything to do with it. 

Taking a deep breath she uttered an apology, as she began wiping the tears from her face.

“It’s okay, I’ll take you crying on me over you yelling at me anyday.” 

Guilt swelled up in her chest. “I shouldn’t have done either of those things.”

“That's my ideal too, but nobody's perfect,” he assured her, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Honestly though, I get why you were upset, and I completely support you standing up for your beliefs, I just wish you'd be a little less… combative about it.”

“I held back.”

“For what, one whole sentence?” 

“He was rude.” 

Lyon sighed and threaded his fingers through his hair. “Yeah he was, but that's just how Gray is. You don't have to sink to his level.”

“Except it's not,” she countered. “He acts that way because you all let him get away with it. Someone needs to tell him it's not okay.”

“You think I haven't tried? He doesn't listen.” Lyon huffed as he disentangled himself from her. 

Agitation raced through him and he couldn't lay still anymore, instead he sat up on the edge of the bed, leg bouncing with all his pent up energy. “All you did was bring attention to an issue that he already associates with me; an issue I'm trying to avoid at all costs. I know it's not all about me, but it is partially about me, and when you act out like that I feel singled out.”

Delicate arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and one landed on his knee to halt the jittering. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.”

He sighed and leaned back into her embrace. “I know you don't mean it. You're not even doing something wrong. It's just, sometimes, it's too much. You never seem to know when to stop.”

“I can't help it. I try to control my emotions, but they just end up overwhelming me sometimes.”

“That's fair, we can work on it.” His hand found hers and he laced their fingers together. “Look, I know you really don't like telling people you're from the system, but Gray knows and if Gajeel's gonna be around more it's bound to come out. We should probably tell my parents about it.”

Her grip around his waist tightened and her head nuzzled into his shoulder. “Don't wanna.”

Lyon tried to stifle his laughter as an image of her pouting like a child popped into his mind. It was one of those rare things he knew she avoided at all costs, but he really didn't see away around it. He would gladly trade places with her if he could. 

Suddenly, it occurred to him that maybe that was the perfect solution. “I could tell them for you.”

She perked up at his offer. There was a moment's pause before he caught her shake her head out of the corner of his eye. “I couldn't make you do that.” 

“Why not?” he asked, twisting around to face her. “I'm asking you to pretend to be my girlfriend all so I can avoid having my sexuality called into question. It's the least I can do to pay you back.”

“I don't know…. Wouldn't that be weird? I mean, it would just raise even more questions. Questions you don't really have an answer to.”

Lyon sighed. There had to be a way to make this work. Now that the idea was in his head he wasn't letting it go. She was already doing so much for him, he didn't want her having to suffer through a conversation she wouldn't have to have if she wasn't here in the first place. 

“Maybe I could just talk to my mom first, pull her aside and explain the situation. I'll just tell her it's something that upsets you and thus we figured it was easier just to talk about your foster home as your family to avoid questions. We can talk about it and figure out how to tell my dad and Tear, and I'll just tell them no questions allowed.”

Juvia frowned. “That's not going to fly.”

Lyon sighed and took both her hands in his and locked his eyes with hers. “Juvia, no one in this household is a stranger to grief. They’ll understand, I promise.”

Her hesitation let him know he'd won before she even uttered her agreement. And he’d be lying if he said that somewhere, under the altruistic intention to unburden her, he wasn’t at least a little relieved to have one less thing to lie about.


	9. A Step In The Right Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia still can't sleep and Gray tries to make amends.

* * *

“We’re home!” Silver’s greeting echoed up the stairs, pulling Juvia and Lyon from their conversation. They’d spoken a bit about what he would say to his mom, but had quickly moved on to a lighter conversation since. However, now Silver and Ur were home and Juvia felt the weight of the conversation that needed to unfold. 

Lyon sighed, and rose from the bed, turning back to offer her his hand and a smile. “Come on, let’s go get this monkey off our backs. We’ll both feel better once it’s done.”

Juvia nodded, and took his hand. It was more for comfort than help, and she kept their hands interlaced as she followed him out of the room. 

Juvia’s heart leapt to her throat at the sight that greeted her as the started down the stairs. Lucy and Natsu were standing in the foyer, along with Gray, talking with Ur and Silver. She’d hoped that they’d have gone home by now, saving her the embarrassment of having to face them after her outburst. 

Lucy was the one who noticed them first. “Juvia, thank goodness! I was hoping you’d come down before we left. Are you okay now?”

Juvia froze a few steps from the bottom of the stairs, as all eyes fell on her. Lyon stopped a step below, offering her hand a reassuring squeeze. She could read the mix concern and confusion on Silver and Ur’s faces, and felt a pang of guilt when she recognized it on the faces of the others. She hadn’t meant to worry anyone. 

“What’s wrong?” Ur asked, glancing between her and Lyon. 

A sigh fell from Lyon’s lips as he let go of her hand and stepped down onto the bottom step. “It’s okay now, but I was wondering if we could talk privately for a moment?”

Ur frowned, and Juvia noticed Gray’s shocked expression as his gaze fell to Lyon. 

“Sure, we can use the master bedroom.” 

Lyon nodded, and turned around to climb back up the stairs. His fingers gently brushed the back of her hand as he went, and Ur followed close behind with a worried look.

Juvia shifted awkwardly on the stairs, not really wanting to join the others. 

There was a beat of silence before Lucy stepped forward. “I’m really glad you’re okay now. I just wanted to say please don’t take what Gray said to heart, he didn’t mean it, he’s just really stupid someti-”

“Oi,” Gray protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lucy shot him a scathing glare.

Gray glowered at her for a moment before sighing. “Fine. Sometimes I’m stupid.”

“Just what did you say this time?” Silver asked, frowning at his son. 

Gray tensed, and quickly averted his gaze, suddenly finding the floor much more interesting. 

Some part of Juvia wanted to hear him explain himself, and another part of her was curious as to Silver’s reaction. Lyon didn’t talk much about his family’s views, and while they seemed open-minded to her, Juvia felt like there must be some reason he was so reluctant to come out to them. In the end, Lyon’s words came back to her. He was uncomfortable with the topic, and while her initial reaction had been driven by her own feelings, if she were to continue, it would be about him. 

“It’s nothing.” She let the words hang in the air, as Silver and Gray turned their attention to her, and she took a deep breath and steeled her nerves, finding that cold and calm demeanour she’d owned back in high school, before meeting Gray’s gaze. “I overreacted.”

Juvia made her way down the remaining two steps and paused beside Lucy, offering her a small smile. “I appreciate your concern, but I'm okay now.”

“But-” 

“It's fine, really,” Juvia insisted. 

Lucy seemed unconvinced, and Juvia decided that a change of topic was in order. “Are you and Natsu staying for dinner?”

“Uh… no…. We were actually just about to head out. Natsu’s dad is waiting for us,” Lucy replied. 

“Well it was nice meeting you both,” Juvia said.

“Right, nice meeting you too.” 

“Yeah! We’ll see you again at the party, right?” Natsu chimed in.

“Uh, party?” 

“That’s right!” Silver beamed. “Every year we host a party for friends of the family. Everyone brings a dish, we blast music, sing some carols, and make merry. Didn’t Lyon tell you about it?”

“Uh….” No, he hadn't told her about that. Juvia was pretty sure she'd remember being told about a giant Christmas party, and was doubly sure Lyon had intentionally left it out. 

“Right, he told me about it on the way here. Must have slipped my mind.” Juvia turned back to Natsu. “I guess I'll see you there then.”

He offered her a toothy grin. “Awesome! I'm looking forward to more of your food, that soup was amazing!” 

Juvia couldn't help but laugh, grateful that at least one person was willing to overlook her outburst. She flashed him a smile as she turned towards the kitchen. “I’ll be sure to cook you up something special then.”

Natsu’s cheers erupted behind her. It lightened her heart and helped keep the smile on her face as she entered the kitchen to start on dinner.

* * *

Anxiety coursed through Lyon’s body as he made his way to his parents bedroom. He knew he shouldn’t be nervous, it wasn’t like he was divulging one of his own secrets, and yet he found himself dreading the conversation he was about to have, and slowing his pace to prolong needing to have it. 

His chest constricted as he turned the knob on the door to his parents bedroom and entered. He stepped aside, letting his mom follow him in, then closed the door behind her. He took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves before turning to face her. 

Ur’s expression was one of concern, and Lyon felt a tad guilty spring the conversation on her so suddenly. She was probably worried about Lucy’s outburst, and Lyon had pulled her from the room before she could really learn much. 

She let out a resigned sigh, as she settled onto the edge of her bed. “What did Gray do this time?” 

“Nothing,” Lyon replied, and Ur offered him a startled look. “Well, okay he was an ass as usual, and was running his mouth without thinking. But that’s nothing new, and that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“It isn’t?” 

Lyon frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the door. Her response annoyed him, more than he’d cared to admit. Did she really believe that he’d only ask her to talk if he wanted to complain about Gray? 

“Not that that’s a bad thing!” Ur quickly amended. “I’m just surprised. Ever since you started high school, that was pretty much the only thing you ever seemed to want to talk to me about.”

Lyon grimaced. It certainly wasn’t the only thing he’d wanted to talk to her about. It was just the only thing he really felt he could talk to her about. 

Ur patted the bed right beside her, and Lyon pushed off from the door, moving to sit beside her. “You know you can tell me anything right? I’ll always be here for you.”

Lyon nodded numbly. He felt a brief flash of frustration; he knew she meant it, but that just wasn’t true. He could name a handful of occasions just off the top of his head where she’d sided with Gray over him, and sure, some part of him knew that she was just trying to be fair to both of them; that she had an obligation to hear Gray out too. And maybe sometimes it seemed like Lyon was making too big a deal out of things, but she had no idea what went on at school, and outside this house, and he could never truly explain it either. 

He was jostled a bit as she nudged his shoulder with her own. “Hey, come on, what’s bugging you kid? I can’t help if you’re not gonna tell me.”

Lyon took at deep breath and closed his eyes. Now wasn’t the time for self pity. He’d promised Juvia he’d talk to his family on her behalf and he wasn’t about to let her down. He just needed to figure out how to ease into it. “It’s about Juvia.”

“Okay…. What about her?”

“Well, you see, her brother Gajeel was over today.”

“That must have been nice. If I’d known he was nearby I would have told you to invite him over sooner.”

“That’s the thing, we didn’t know he would be. He goes to Magnolia U with Gray and Natsu, so he was here hanging out with them. Anyways, the point I want to make is that, well…. He and Juvia made plans for him to come over on Friday and-”

“Lyon, that’s fine. You know you’re always welcome to have friends over, and same goes for Juvia. We don’t have a closed door policy in this house,” Ur interjected.

“I know,” Lyon huffed. “I know he can come over. It’s just that he’s not actually Juvia’s brother, they just grew up in the same orphanage. And he’s really upfront about being from a home; only Juvia hates talking about it, and so we’ve avoided telling you and everyone by just talking about Juvia’s foster father and the rest of the kids as though they were her family. But now…. I just thought you should know before he shows up and says something. Or Gray, since he knows.”

Lyon took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh. That was not easing into it, not even close. 

“Okay,” Ur began, “I really appreciate you telling me, but I hope you talked about this with Juvia first.”

Lyon nodded. “I did, I just thought it might be easier if I talked to you for her. Gray said something this afternoon to set her off, and she’s been pretty upset since. I just figured I’d spare her the added stress. She really hates talking about her parents; she hasn’t even told me what happened yet, so I really want to spare her any unnecessary questions about it. I also thought maybe you could help me talk to Dad and Ultear about it?”

Lyon turned to look at her, only to find his mom staring back at him with a look that he could only describe as disappointed. He’d seen it enough times to know, though it was so rarely directed at him. But now he was hit with the full force of it and it felt as though the roof had just collapsed in on him. 

But in a flash it was gone, replaced by a warm smile and a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Of course, we can pull them both aside once Ultear gets home.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

He was about to stand when he felt her lean over, her arms wrapping around him in a tight hug. “You know I love you right?”

“Of course I do, I love you too,” he replied, leaning in and hugging her back. It felt as warm and welcoming as it always had, but he couldn’t help but wonder exactly what he’d done wrong.

* * *

“So Juvia, Lyon mentioned you got to see your brother today. That must have been nice.”

There it was. Juvia had been wondering when the topic would come up. She'd been on edge ever since Ur called Silver from the kitchen to talk, expecting him to come back with questions, or at least for it to be awkward between them. Instead he'd smiled at her, and picked right up where he'd left off. 

Still, it was only a matter of time, before someone brought it up. Lyon had spared her from the initial awkwardness, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be questions. 

Juvia was used to it, she'd never met anyone that didn't eventually pry into her personal life. They were rarely so rude as to ask directly, instead they asked probing questions, trying to get her to talk on her own, but once she'd answer one question more would follow. She hated this dance. Proper social etiquette was something that had been drilled into her at a young age, and was instinctual. Only it had been used to trap her too many times, and thus even the slightest manipulations set her on edge, dividing her responses. 

It was Ur’s soft smile that won her over. She bit back the sarcastic response that bubbled on her tongue and forced a smile instead. “Yeah, it was. I haven’t seen him since the summer.” 

“Wow, that's a long time.” Silver commented.

Juvia hummed an agreement. 

“Yeah, well, it's too long a drive for him to come down on long weekends.” Lyon explained. 

“So you keep telling us,” Ultear chided.

“Now, now,” Ur interjected, “it’s a sixteen hour drive from Magnolia to Margaret Town without stops. That's not the kind of trip anyone wants to make on a three day weekend.” She smiled at Lyon and he offered her a small smile in return. “Although, it's quite the interesting coincidence that your brothers ended up going the the same university and being friends no less.” 

“I don't know if I'd call us friends. More like acquaintances.” Gray amended. 

Lyon let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, Gajeel isn't really the friendly type.” 

“That's not true,” Juvia argued.

Lyon offered her a skeptical look. 

“He's just a bit anti-social.”

“Extremely antisocial,” Gray corrected. “It doesn't help that he looks like a delinquent.”

Juvia shot him a glare, before glancing nervously at his parents. “He's not a delinquent, he just looks a little… rough around the edges. It gets people to leave him alone.”

“Like I said; extremely antisocial.”

“You’re one to talk,” Ultear scoffed.

“I’m sure he’s a lovely person, and we look forward to meeting him.” Ur interjected, shooting a look at Ultear and Gray, effectively shutting them up, before turning to smile at Juvia. “Just know he’s welcome anytime, you don’t have to be shy about having guests over, okay?”

Juvia nodded, as a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Like I said earlier, the more the merrier for the party. So if you want to invite any other friends, or any other members of your family, you’re more than welcome to.” Silver added. 

Juvia felt an overwhelming flood of affection for Lyon’s parents in that moment. It was clear they were going out of their to make her feel comfortable, and she honestly was touched by the effort. “I appreciate the offer, but Gajeel’s really the only one I was ever close to, and most of our friends are still living out on the west coast.”

“I still don’t get how you and Gajeel, of all people, ended up being close,” Gray remarked. “There must have been nicer people to hang out with.”

Juvia frowned, her mind briefly drifting back to the orphanage and it’s occupants. “Not really. Anyways-”

“Oi. Stop ignoring me,” Gray demanded, frowning at Juvia. 

Juvia raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m not ignoring you. I’ve responded to everything you’ve said.”

“You’ve dismissed everything I’ve said. Admit it, you’re still pissed off about the gay comment!” 

Silence fell over the table, and Juvia had to catch herself as she went to glance at Lyon. She’d been trying to steer clear of the topic, but Gray seemed insistent on having it regardless of whether she wanted to or not. 

“What gay comment?” Ultear spat, as she fixed Gray with a glare. 

Ur and Silver also fixed him with disapproving stares, and Gray shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. 

“I, uh, I might have called Natsu’s win gay,” He replied, glancing away from the sharp looks he was getting, “it’s just- he was being really cheap with his moves, and then rubbed it in when he actually managed to win a match. I mean, I get it, it’s a childish comment. I was just pissed off.” 

Gray scratched the back of his neck, as he glanced up at Juvia. 

She quickly glanced away, frustrated by his attempts at justifying himself. She glanced over at Silver, then quickly over to Ur and Ultear and a frisson of frustration laced through her. They had all relaxed visibly. Ultear still looked a bit annoyed but Silver and Ur just seemed confused.

“Well,” Silver piped up. “Yeah, it’s a bit childish, but at least you weren’t insulting anyone.”

Juvia’s nails bit into the palm of her hand, as she forced herself to take a deep breath. Feelings of anger and betrayal coursed through her, as she fought to keep her expression neutral. She heard Ur’s voice, but the words didn’t register. Nothing did. 

She fixed her gaze on her plate and focused on breathing. This was why Lyon needed her here, and the reality cut her to her core. She’d wanted to believe that they were different from the other people in this town, they seemed so much more open minded…. 

She honestly wanted to scream at them, all of them. Could they really not see how damaging that response was? She fought the urge to grab Lyon by the hand and drag him to the car, and drive nonstop until they were back in Margaret Town. 

A hand fell over top of hers, jolting her from her revere.

“Juvia?” Lyon was staring at her nervously. “Are you okay?”

She took a deep breath and focused on maintaining an indifferent expression. She’d already lost her cool once, she wasn’t going to do it again. “Uh, yeah.... Sorry, I just spaced out.”

“Seriously? Why can’t you just admit you’re still upset?” Gray huffed.

“So what if I am? You made a comment, it offended me, I’ll get over it. Can you please just drop it already?”  
Another awkward silence broke out, and she could feel all eyes on her.

Finally Gray sighed in defeat. “Yeah… Okay. If that’s what you want.”

It wasn’t, but sometimes you gotta make sacrifices for the people you love.

* * *

A particularly loud snore startled Juvia awake for what must have been the fifth time that night. She was utterly exhausted, and kept drifting off only to be woken moments later and it was driving her insane. 

She'd tried shoving him onto his side, waking him, and a pillow over her head, but the solution would only last long enough for her to manage to nod off before he started again. 

Frustrated with fighting a losing battle, Juvia slipped out of bed and made her way out of the room and down the stairs. 

Once she'd reached the bottom, she glanced left towards the lit up kitchen and decided against it. She didn't want to deal with Gray. He seemed to think that she was just going to let his comment go and she didn't have the patience to explain why that wasn't happening. She was worn out and another screaming match just wasn't appealing. 

Instead, she moved forward into the family room. The focal point of the room was the large stone fireplace in the middle of the far wall. It was bordered by two wall mounted bookshelves and in front of it was a small coffee table and leather couch. To the right, there was a sitting area by the window. 

Juvia crept across the hardwood floor, making her way to the couch, and curled up against the right arm, dragging the soft woolen throw that was draped over the back, down to cover her. She hadn’t bothered with the lights; the soft glow of the streetlamps outside offered just enough light for her to see and she’d rather not announce her presence. 

A tired sigh fell from her lips and she tucked the blanket under her feet to warm them. It’d been an emotional day and she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy that Lyon was asleep. Then again, she doubted she would be sleeping, even if the day had gone well; she’d never been good at sleeping in new places. The instability of her childhood had left her with an aversion to change and new places. More than anything, she just wanted company and a distraction until exhaustion managed to overpower the anxiety. 

There was a flicker of disappointment, maybe even regret, as her mind immediately turned to Gray. Despite the fact that every night started off rough, he’d ended up being good company. The fact that he was awake and only a few feet away was enough for her resolve to waver momentarily. 

There was an audible creak behind her, and she turned to peer over the back of the couch. Gray froze as her eyes met his. In one hand was a mug and in the other there was a bowl. 

“Hey. I, uh, figured you’d probably want some tea,” he announced, moving around the couch to set the items down on the coffee table. 

All of her earlier frustration came back abruptly, and Juvia’s glare followed him as he approached. 

“I also brought you some ice cream.” He was standing at the far end of the coffee table and ran a hand through his hair before nervously meeting her gaze. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said early… and how I reacted.”

“You can’t just say whatever you feel like, then apologize afterwards and expect it to all be okay. It’s not.”

Gray nodded. “I know. I don’t expect you to just forgive me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe you an apology…. I also wanted to thank you.”

Juvia blinked in surprise. Some part of her had expected the apology; it seemed to be a trend for him to do so when no one else was around, but she had no idea what he was thanking her for. 

He seemed to sense her confusion and decided to seize the moment. “Apparently, you’re not the only person I was offending. Lucy and Levy decided that was the opening they needed to air their own grievances; same with Gajeel. If you hadn’t spoken up, I doubt they ever would have.”

He shifted awkwardly, pausing for a minute to gauge her reaction. 

Juvia wasn’t really sure how to feel. A part of her felt vindicated that Gray’s friends had continued to chastise him in her place, but there was also a healthy dose of frustration. Shouldn’t they have said something sooner?

“Look, I’ve been thinking about what you said last night. About how I can’t change what I’ve done, but that I need to decide what I want and who I want to be in order to move forward. I don’t want to keep upsetting the people around me. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone. So, I’m glad you called me out, and I hope that you’ll keep doing it, because I don’t want to be that guy. I just don’t trust myself to always recognize when I’m doing it.”

He was staring at her intently by the end of his little speech. Some traitorous part of her brain found the whole thing incredibly arousing, what with his bare chest heaving, and his muscles flexed instinctively due to stress. She bit her lip and turned away. Now was so not the time to be noticing that. 

“Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that it won’t happen again, and that you should speak up if I make you uncomfortable. I’ll try not to bite your head off next time.” He glanced at her then, looking at her like a scolded puppy, and a pang of guilt hit her. 

The silence stretched for an extra couple beats before he let out another sigh. His shoulders slumped dejectedly. “I’ll just leave you alone now….”

He’d already taken two steps towards the door when she managed to find her voice. “You can stay.”

He blinked as he looked back at her from over his shoulder. Just a hint of a smile forming on his lips. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” 

She turned back to the coffee table and grabbed the bowl, cradling it her lap as she took a small spoonful and ate it. She closed her eyes and savoured the sweet taste and creamy texture that slid over her tongue. Most women turned to chocolate for stress relief, but for Juvia it had always been ice cream.

Gray flopped down beside her, prompting her to glance over at him. He’d settled just far enough that neither of them were touching, with his feet propped up on the coffee table. But he could easily have given her more space, and the thought that he wanted to be that close sent her heart racing. He lifted his left hand, pointing a small remote at the fireplace for a moment, pressing the small red button at the top. 

The fireplace clicked, and flames appeared. Juvia stared at the fireplace, in awe. As a child, she’d often wondered what it would be like to have one. Sitting across from it now, she found herself mesmerized, the flames looked completely real.

“So, when you mentioned your dad yesterday, were you talking about your foster father, or….”

Juvia stiffened. It was like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water down her back. “I don't want to talk about it.” 

The implication that she might have been talking about her real father hurt in a way she hadn't expected. There was a time when she had embraced the idea of Matthew being her real father. A time when she was willing to wash away anyone that had come before. He just hadn't felt the same, and that bitter reality still stung. 

“Right. Sorry.” 

Silence stretched between them, heavy and oppressive. Gray stared into the flames, making no move to restart the conversation. It was like a chasm opening up before Juvia, demanding she fill it lest it swallow her whole.

“That’s it? No questions?” She winced. It was practically an invitation for him to invade her privacy. 

Gray shrugged. “Nope. I hate talking about my mom, so I get not wanting people to pry.”

“Your mom?” She asked, unsure why he'd be bothered talking about Ur, only to have it hit her a moment later that he wasn't referring to Ur at all. “Oh my god, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about Ur, but of course you weren't. I just, I mean, I forgot she wasn't-” Juvia forced her mouth shut, determined not to continue blundering through such a sensitive topic. 

Gray offered her a small smile, no doubt to reassure her, although it was obviously forced and it broke her heart. “It’s cool. I brought it up.” 

Silence flooded the room once more as Juvia struggled to pull her thoughts together. She wanted to say something, to reach out and keep talking, but she didn't feel right pressing the current topic. Instead she finished off the last of the ice cream and set the bowl on the end table behind her.

“I was eight,” Gray said. The ghost of a smile had fallen from his lips and he kept his gaze locked on the fire. 

Juvia wanted to assure him that he needn't explain. That she wasn't interested in this sharing game and couldn't reciprocate when the time came, but her words caught in her throat, as his own tumbled forth. 

“I was at Natsu's the night it happened. My parents wanted a night out and so we were having a sleepover in his living room. I knew something was wrong that morning. You know that feeling when you wake up and something just feels off?” 

Juvia nodded, even though she was certain the question had been rhetorical. He was still staring into the flames. 

“My dad couldn't even look at me when he arrived to get me. He didn't say anything, just stood there frozen in the doorway where I'd rushed to greet him, before pulling my arms off him and walking back out.

“It was Igneel who told me. He said ‘There's been an accident, and something's happened to your Mom.’ He apologized and told me she wasn't coming back.” 

He paused then, clearing his throat, as his voice had gotten hoarse. Juvia could see his eyes glazing over and she was about to move to comfort him, only to freeze as his eyes locked with hers. 

“No one would tell me what happened to her. It wasn't until some kid at school came running up to me yelling ‘Oh my god, your mom got shot!’ that I found out any of the details. Even after that, my dad avoided me; he could barely say two words to me. Then when he went back to work he just dropped me off at Ur’s and told me she’d look after me.” 

Juvia jumped when Gray’s fist hit the couch cushion. His face was scrunched in pain. “Do you have any idea what that felt like? For him to just leave me like that with some family friend I barely knew?”

Yes. The word was on the tip of her tongue and she bit down to keep it there. She knew the feeling all too well, could picture the scene with practiced ease. Standing in the doorway, some stranger holding her wrist as she struggled, begged, or cried. Watching the back of someone who was supposed to care for you get further and further from you. 

She remembered the fear, the heartache, and then that last time; the cold, hard anger and resentment. It all came rushing back to her and tasted like ash in her mouth. She didn’t dare let it out, lest she poison the conversation. 

Gray was speaking in past tense, of an painful emotion that had dulled over time. Her own feelings were never so deeply buried; instead they rested just beneath the surface, waiting for her to get too close so they could swallow her whole. 

She was surprised when he looked at her. Those dark eyes were fixed on hers, and it felt like he was staring at a piece of her soul. Surely he must have seen something telling, because his expression softened just a little. She recognised that look, the mix of sympathy and understanding. It was one she’d shared with Gajeel on more than a few occasions. 

“I was so angry at him,” Gray explained, and this time Juvia nodded in understanding. 

He sighed and collapsed back against the couch, head falling back as he stared up at the ceiling. “I was so angry at everything, and I felt completely alone. Like I’d lost both of them that day instead of just my mom. I lashed out at everyone around me, Ur and Lyon most of all. It felt like they were on his side, and like they were trying to replace what I’d lost. I didn’t even think about the fact that Lyon’s dad had died the year before, or the fact that Ultear was sick in the hospital. They went through hell, and I just gave them both more.” 

He ran a hand through his hair and turned to look at her again. “I’ve always been selfish like that. When I’m emotional I forget about everyone else, it’s just all about me. That’s why Lyon hates me.”

Juvia reached out, instinctively covering his hand with hers. Gray looked startled by the action, and glanced down as she entwined her fingers with his, and gently rubbed her thumb along the side of his hand. “I’m sorry you went through all of that, but you can’t beat yourself up about it forever. Everyone makes mistakes, and most of us repeat them over and over again, but that’s just being human. I can tell you that Lyon doesn’t hate you for that. You were a kid, and you’d just lost your parents, it’s understandable you’d be mad. Hell, I was angry as well… I mean, I was four-”

“Stop,” Gray cut her off with a frown. “I didn’t tell you all of that so you would tell me too. I told you ‘cause I wanted to. I felt like you’d get it. And part of me wants you to understand some of what went on between Lyon and I from my side of things. I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not curious about your past, but you don’t owe me anything. I’d rather you tell me when you’re ready.”

Juvia paused, needing a moment to absorb what Gray had just said. Deep down, she knew it was true. She wanted to ease his pain, but more than anything, she felt an obligation to share her own. That’s usually how these sorts of things went, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours. But it was clear Gray didn’t abide by many social rules, and this proved to be no different. 

She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for understanding.”

Gray offered her a curt nod, before turning back to watch the fire and Juvia followed suit.

The silence was calmer this time, and Juvia allowed herself to relax and enjoy the comfort Gray’s presence offered her. 

It was in that moment that she realized their fingers were still intertwined, and suddenly she felt hyper aware of his close proximity. She could feel the heat creeping up onto her cheeks at the intimacy of the moment. 

She stole a glance at him and he seemed unphased by their closeness. Her eyes drifted down to his shoulder and chest, and she found herself struck with a desire to be closer. 

She focused her gaze back onto the fire before her. Her heart thundered in her chest as she began to lean towards Gray, slowly closing the gap between them. She almost stopped when their shoulders touched, his skin was warm against her own and that heat seemed to spread through her whole body like wildfire. Digging deep, she fought her instinct to withdraw and kept going, shifting slightly to allow her head to drop down onto his shoulder. 

Gray immediately tensed at the action, and before she could really settle he’d started to pull his hand from hers. Anxiety and shame flooded her mind and she let go an instant later, before reluctantly starting to pull away from him as he shift himself as well. 

Then, suddenly, his arm was draped across her shoulder halting her. She glanced up at him, but his eyes were fixed on the fire before him, with unwavering determination. Still, she swore a soft blush bloomed across his cheeks as his arm drew her back towards him. Maybe that was just the glow of the fire. The lighting wasn’t all that great so she couldn’t be sure. 

Deciding that it was irrelevant, she leaned in again. This time he shifted as well, allowing her head fall comfortably just above his chest, as his arm loosened to drape casually around her waist. 

There were a million thoughts racing through her head in that moment, and she was curious about his as well. Did this mean something? 

Some part of her wanted it to, even as another part of her screamed about betrayal. Surely Lyon would not approve, and she had promised to avoid getting close to Gray, but did this really count? 

She knew the answer, and yet she couldn't bring herself to withdraw. Her heart was exhausted and aching, but being held like this eased so much of the pain. The truth was, Juvia didn't think she could stand to be alone with her thoughts any more that night. There were some things Lyon just didn't need to know about. 

Her mind drifted back to Gray, and again she wondered what he was thinking. She wanted to ask him. She wanted to know why he was holding her, what he was feeling, whether he yearned for more. 

In the end she decided it was best not to ask. There was a certain comfort in knowing that she didn’t have to explain herself, and if he wasn’t going to press for answers, than neither was she. For now she was content to enjoy the moment.

* * *


	10. Felix Felicis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First dates and skating and fluff. Mostly.

By the time breakfast had ended, it was clear; today was Lyon’s lucky day. 

Gray had gotten up early and had rushed off to hockey practice the minute he’d cleared his plate. Ultear had to meet up with her business partner, Jellal, to go over details for a new case. And his parents were headed to Ur’s gallery, in order to prepare for a showing. 

In fact, the only bad news was that the showing was tomorrow, and that meant his parents weren't going to be joining them for their usual tradition of going to the Festival of Lights in Magnolia. He wasn't about to complain though; it was Ur's dream to own a gallery, and her success allowed Silver to retire early from working up north at the mines, meaning he no longer had to spend weeks at a time away from home. One lost tradition was an easy price to pay for their happiness. 

Furthermore, it meant he was in the clear for his date. With all of his family occupied, there was little else that could go wrong.

He couldn't help but feel like it was a sign, and told Juvia as much as they approached Edelwiess.

"Today is going to be perfect, I can just feel it. It's like the universe is converging in just the right way for this date to go off without a hitch. Kinda like I took that luck potion from Harry Potter."

Juvia rolled her eyes, but offered him a small smile anyways. "You mean the Felix Felicis potion?"

He chuckled. "Probably. You’re more likely to remember it than me."

"Well, let's hope you're right. Lord knows we could both use some good luck in the romance department."

"Amen to that. It's been way too long since I've actually been excited about a date. And if this goes well, that means once we get back to college I'll have more time and energy to focus on helping you get a little action."

Juvia shook her head at him. "I think I'll manage just fine on my own. I know I've been out of the game for a few months, but I haven't forgotten how to play."

"It wouldn't hurt if you let me help you with your outfits," Lyon offered.

"Uh, I've seen your idea of what I should wear out, and I think I'll pass. I'd like to be able to bend over a bit without exposing myself."

Lyon glanced over at her, letting his eyes wander over her outfit, before returning his gaze back to the road. "You could do with a little more exposure from time to time. I mean, you've got assets most women would kill for, it's practically a sin that you don't use them more to your advantage!"

"You're just saying that," she replied, but Lyon noticed the soft flush of her cheeks.

"No I'm not. You know I'm not. I don't just dole out empty compliments, Juvia. I mean, I do, but you know when I'm just joking around. And that doesn't mean that there's not truth behind them. You're a pretty girl."

"But I'd be prettier if I hiked up my skirt and wore a plunging neckline?" she grumbled.

"No, you'd still be just as pretty. You'd just get a hell of a lot more attention for it."

Juvia sighed and turned to stare out the window. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation, and he knew better than to push her too far. It was true, he often tried to push styles that he knew pushed her well out of her comfort zone in regards to skin coverage, but he also knew she had the figure to pull it off. 

It wasn't that he thought she needed to be exposed to get noticed. He just thought that if she went out, even once, and got the attention that kind of outfit would elicit, she'd feel more confident moving forward. Or at least he hoped she would. She always vetoed his options so he couldn't test the theory.

"Maybe I can try it your way once. We'll go out once we get back, and I'll let you doll me up. Mostly because after this trip I'm gonna be in dire need of a really good hook up."

"Oh?" Lyon quirked his eyebrow up at her. "And why exactly are you so sure you're gonna need that hook up?"

Juvia tensed just a bit and her lips twitched in a grimace. "No reason."

"Uh huh, sure. Nothing to do with my brother running around half naked most mornings."

"He's hot okay? To be honest, I have no idea how it doesn't affect you," she sighed.

"It's Gray, I'd rather gag on some fat old ma-"

"Stop! I do not need that mental image, just stop!" She shuddered, and Lyon let a self satisfied smirk spread across his lips.

"Fine, fine. I'll spare you the gory details," he replied. "Anyways, you gonna be okay to entertain yourself this afternoon?"

"Yes, yes. I'll be fine. I looked up those outdoor ice rinks that you told me about, and they've got a free skate going on for most of the day so I'll probably head over and check it out. I haven't had a chance to go skating in years, and it would be nice to get back on the ice."

"If you want I can give you a bit of cash, just something to cover your skate rentals and lunch," Lyon offered. Truthfully, as much as he was looking forward to his date he felt a bit guilty leaving her all on her own for so long, especially after yesterday. He wasn't about to tell her, but it was obvious she hadn't slept well last night.

"I'll be fine Lyon. I know I complain about money a lot but I'm not destitute. I can afford a day out once in awhile."

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I just feel guilty ditching you today."

"Yeah well, get over it, it's for a good cause; besides, I think we're almost there."

True to her words, Lyon spotted the sign for the café just up ahead, and pulled onto the nearest side street to park.

He leaned back and let loose a sigh as Juvia undid her seat belt, prompting her to turn and look at him.

"Are you okay?"

Lyon bit down on his bottom lip as the feeling of butterflies in his stomach intensified. "Just need a minute."

She nodded and leaned back against her own seat, and slipped her hand over his. "Nervous?"

He nodded.

"Excited?"

"Mhmm."

"You know, I bet you he's pretty nervous as well. I mean, all this time talking to you, and he finally gets to meet you face to face. It's a lot of pressure for both of you, don't you think?" Juvia said.

Lyon stared at her for a moment, before smiling and giving her hand a small squeeze. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? I guess I'm just worried I'm going to disappoint him. I mean, all this time we've been talking, he's kinda been looking up to me. I act like I've got all the answers cause I've been a million miles away, but now...." Lyon sighed. "What if I'm not good enough?"

Juvia stared at him for a moment before leaning across the armrest and wrapping her arms around him. He leaned into the hug as she pulled him tighter and nuzzled her cheek against his. "Lyon, there's no way in hell you're not good enough. You're so amazing, and talented, and funny. You, as you are, is a hundred times better than any online version of yourself you conjured up."

Lyon sighed, and held her tighter, taking strength from her words. He had no idea how he'd gotten so lucky, Juvia was the only person he knew he could trust in moments like this. The only one who saw his insecurities and didn't try to use them against him. Instead, she just kept picking up the pieces, and held him up while he managed to piece himself back together.

He gave her one final squeeze before letting out a sigh and pulling back. "Come on, we better get going. Normally I'm all for showing up fashionably late, but I don't think that's the right impression I want to make on a first date."

Juvia giggled. "I should hope not."

Lyon took a deep breath and steeled his nerves, taking Juvia's words to heart. He'd been talking with Mered for a year now, and they had an effortless relationship. There was no reason for him to believe that that was going to change now.

* * *

 

Lyon spotted Mered the second he and Juvia walked into the café. It was hard to miss his wispy pink hair. Sure, it wasn't quite as wild as Natsu's, but it still helped him stand out from the crowd.

Green eyes locked with his and Lyon felt his heart flutter. If he was honest, Mered's online pictures didn't do him justice. His face looked more angular now, and he could see the hint of a  five o'clock shadow starting to grow in, making him look older and much less baby-faced.

Mered flashed him a brilliant smile and waved.

Lyon smiled back, but remained frozen in place by the door, his mind buzzing with questions about whether or not his hair looked okay, or if he dressed up too much.

Mered wore a simple, loose-fitting black turtleneck and baggy khaki cargo pants. It was a sharp contrast to the royal blue dress shirt and slacks hiding under Lyon’s coat.

It suddenly occurred to him that they were still up north. Images of his encounter with Bacchus, as well as his last date flooded his mind. His heart rate doubled, but it felt like he couldn't breath. The noise in the tiny café suddenly seemed unreasonably loud and overwhelming.

A comforting hand slipped into his and he felt Juvia lean into him from behind. “You okay?”

“Hmm?” Lyon’s heart began to slow, and all at once everything came back into focus. It was a jarring feeling.

“You're kinda gawking,” Juvia mummered in his ear. “You keep standing here and you're gonna freak him out.”

Lyon nodded. He could see the slight crease in Mered’s forehead from here. He forced himself to follow Juvia as she guided him over. As they approached, he took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. Nothing was ruining his date, not this time.

Mered slipped from the booth to greet them.

“You must be Mered! It’s so great to finally meet you, Lyon talks about you all the time,” Juvia gushed, as she practically threw her arms around the near stranger in, what Lyon could only assume was, a bone-breaking hug.

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the sight, since Juvia was never that affectionate with strangers. It was obvious she was going out of her way for him, and he felt a huge surge of affection and gratitude.

“Does he now?” Mered asked, sending a wink Lyon’s way.

“Mhmm.”

“Well, that’s good to know. He talks about you all the time too. Starting to make me jealous, the stupid dorky dork.”

Juvia’s cheeks flushed in response as she detached herself from him. “Wha- no, no, it’s not like that. We’re not, that is, I mean Lyon’s-”

Mered’s laughter cut off Juvia’s stuttering, and Lyon felt his heart flutter at the sound.

“Don't worry, I know.” Their eyes met and Mered sent Lyon a small smile. “Hey.”

“Hi,” he replied, with a small smile of his own.

“You know, I think I'm gonna go get us drinks. Low-fat vanilla bean latte?” Juvia asked.

“Sure.”

“Mered?”

“I'm good.” Mered tapped the large paper cup resting on the table beside him.

Juvia nodded and left. Mered watched her go before turning to lock eyes with Lyon once again.

For his part, Lyon had yet to look away. He knew it was starting to border on creepy, but his nerves and excitement were still overwhelming and he found himself slow on the uptake.

“Care to sit?” There was that smirk again, accompanied by a gesture towards the booth.

“You're enjoying this, aren't you?” Lyon asked. He glanced around, before undoing his coat, and quickly shucking it off. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried his best to ignore how exposed he felt. He folded the coat across his arm and slid into the booth across from Mered, carefully placing it beside him.

Mered shrugged, and eyed him. “Maybe.”

Lyon crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the leather cushions. He kept his back straight to maintain his height advantage and fixed Mered with reproachful look.

“Aww, is someone pouting?”

Lyon bristled. “I am most certainly not pouting!”

Mered bit down on his lower lip, and tried to stifle his laughter. His body shook with the effort.

Despite the offensive reaction, all Lyon could really think about was that he looked cute. It had been like that for months now. There was a time when the teasing had bothered him, but now it felt more endearing than anything. Still, he did his best to discourage the behaviour.

“That's a shame,” Mered said, finally managing to control his laughter, “you’re pretty cute when you pout.”

Heat blossomed across Lyon’s cheeks and he immediately whisked his gaze away. Damn this boy.

Mered snickered, and Lyon shot him another frown.

“Yeah, well, I don't pout,” he insisted.

“Uh huh."

“And you'd be cuter if you didn't constantly have that smirk plastered on your face.”

“Cuter, huh?” Mered said, raising a slender pink brow. “So that means you think I'm cute with it too, right?”

“Yeah, well-”

“You're a lot more articulate online, y’know?”

Lyon sighed and combed his fingers through his hair. “I'm usually a lot more articulate, period.”

“What's up?” The smirk had fallen from Mered’s lips and his head was cocked to the side.

“Honestly,” Lyon locked eyes with Mered briefly before glancing around, “I feel a bit overdressed.”

“Pfft, you’re kidding right? You look great.”

“Of course I look great. I always look great. I just….” Lyon trailed off and his eyes shifted over Mered’s outfit yet again.

Mered shifted in his seat, then leaned back against the booth with his arms crossed. “You just think I don’t?”

“What? No. No, no, no. You look good, way better than your photos actually, I just, I forgot that it’s different up here. That maybe you’d want me to be a little less… me?” he said, gesturing to his own outfit. “I just, I know what people can be like up here and I don’t want to cause issues for you.”

Mered snorted. “You’re an idiot. If I wanted some closeted gay redneck I’d just stick to the local dating pool. I like that you dressed up for me. I’m just not quite as comfortable in form-fitting clothes.”    


Lyon let out a sigh of relief. He leaned back, closed his eyes and let his head roll back. His right hand rubbed the back of his neck and shoulders, trying to work out the tension that had built up there.

A soft hand fell over top of his left, which was still resting on the table top. For a moment he thought it might be Juvia’s. Mered’s hands were surprisingly soft, and a bit on the smaller side. Lyon cracked an eye open to peer at him.

Mered was smirking again, and Lyon arched an eyebrow at him.

“You always this frazzled?”

“Hardl-“

“Yes, he is.” Juvia interjected.

Lyon whipped his head up to scowl at her, as she set his latte down in front of him. “I’m never this frazzled on a date.”

“That’s 'cause you don’t date. You meet boys in clubs, and there’s usually minimal talking cause your mouth is otherwise occupied.”

“You can stop talking now.”

Juvia smiled down at him. “I’ll take that as my cue to leave then. Nice meeting you, Mered,” she said, and waved at him.

Lyon caught her wrist before she could walk away. “Hey. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know.” She smiled and glanced at Mered before looking back at him. “But I said I wanted to meet him, not third wheel on your date. So, I’m gonna head out.”

Lyon felt a rush of nerves. He knew she was going to leave, but he figured she’d have stuck around for just a little longer. At least have a drink with them before going.

Juvia offered him a smile and laid her hand over the one on her wrist. Her thumb brushed over his as she gently pulled his hand off her arm. “I’ll be fine. Honestly, just relax and enjoy yourself, you’re overthinking everything.”

He sighed, and nodded.

She gave his hand one last squeeze, then turned to face Mered. “Take care of him, please.”

“Yes ma’am.” Mered saluted.

Juvia giggled, and looked down at Lyon. “Call me later. Much later.”

He smiled at her and nodded, then watched her go. Once she was out of the door he finally turned back to his date. Unsure of what to say he reached out and grabbed his coffee cup, and took a sip.

“You two are really close, huh?”

Mered was staring at him from across the table, his face absent of the usual smirk or flirty smile. His hands were fiddling with his own coffee cup, twisting it about but not picking it up, and he was worrying his lower lip.

“Yeah, well, she’s my best friend,” he said with a shrug.

“Yeah, you might have mentioned that a time or two. I mean, I get it, she’s sweet, and the things you’ve told me she’s done for you… that’s awesome man. I just, I gotta say that you’re just way closer than I thought,” Mered replied. His fingers drummed restlessly against the coffee cup, and his gaze kept shifting around the room.

“What do you mean?” Lyon asked.

Mered’s nose scrunched up, and he hesitated. “It’s just- you have those silent eye conversations, and you instantly relax when she touches you, and she knows your weirdly specific coffee order. It’s all very coupley.”

It really shouldn’t have shocked him. Lyon had heard a million people say something along the same lines back at college. It was nothing new, but the way Mered said it made him feel a bit weird. Sure, they were closer than most people, but that’s why she was his best friend, not just a friend. Was there really something so wrong with that? 

“Well, we’re not.”

“I know that, it’s just-“

“Mer, seriously? I’m here, with you, on a date. The first real date I’ve had since my ex, as Juvia so kindly pointed out. There is nothing going on between Juvia and I. We are just really, stupidly close friends. Trust me, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like you.”

A vivid blush erupted across Mered’s cheeks. “Right,” he said, then took a deep breath, before offering Lyon a sweet smile, “right, I know that.”

“You ought to, I don’t think either of us has been particularly subtle about the matter as of late.”

A devilish smirk appeared, and Lyon knew Mered was recalling some of their more recent conversations.

He briefly wondered how far they were from Mered’s home, but quickly squashed the thought. Mered had been pretty honest about his lack of experience and Lyon didn’t want to rush him into anything. For all that he teased Lyon mercilessly, he was incredibly shy, and seemed pretty body conscious too.

Still, he was hoping to at least steal a kiss or two before the date was over.

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout?,” Mered asked.

“Nothing.” Lyon’s reply came out a little too quick, the word flying from his lips.

“Wow, your mind’s in the gutter already, huh?

“No, it’s not. I was just wondering if I’d get to kiss you today.” Lyon mumbled.

A heated blush spread across Mered’s cheeks, and he averted his gaze. “Well, I- I guess you’ll just have to wait and see won’t you?”

Lyon smirked, feeling pleased with himself for finally managing to fluster his date. “I guess I will.”

* * *

The air was crisp and cool and burnt just a little as Juvia drew in a deep breath. She sat at the bottom of a rickety old set of wooden bleachers with her rental skates resting beside her.

She felt like a little kid again. It felt like it had been forever since she’d last been skating and while it wasn’t something she did often, or particularly well, she’d always enjoyed the activity.

There was something about gliding around on the ice that made her feel free. Skating made her feel like she was weightless, and flying. Or at least it had once she’d gotten the hang of it. The initial learning process was painful, as anyone who’d ever face-planted on the ice could attest to.

Slowly, she laced up her boots, taking in the various families and groups of friends that were scattered about her. Some were resting on the benches while others were on the ice, skating in circles.

Just beyond the main free skating rink was one that seemed exclusively for hockey players. The rinks shared boards on that far side but the hockey rink had an additional chain fence on top, which she assumed was there in case a puck went flying. She could make out several figures whipping back and forth from end to end, clearly in the middle of a game.

She smiled, as she thought of Gray, who was likely doing much the same thing back in Edelweiss.

She shook her head. Better not to start thinking too much about him, lest she dig herself an even deeper hole. There was no denying it at this point; she definitely liked Gray, and it was clear that Lyon had noticed.

Either way, he didn’t seem to reciprocate her feelings. From what Lyon had told her about Gray, she was pretty sure last night would have ended very differently.  Perhaps even with her in a different bed. Truthfully, she was pretty sure she would have just let him too, and that was exactly why she needed to stop thinking about him.

Lyon would not forgive her for that.

She took a shaky breath and stood up, carefully wobbling her way across the small space between the bleachers and the rink, and finally stepping onto the ice.

It took a moment to steady herself, as the skates themselves were in pretty rough shape and didn’t offer much support, making it all the harder to maintain her balance, but she managed. After a moment of clinging to the side, she felt certain she had her feet under her and pushed off from the boards, moving out into the circling crowd.

It took several laps of slow wobbling before she actually started to get the hang of skating again. Now though, she was meandering with the rest of the crowd, a nice steady pace going. Just fast enough to feel a breeze, and invoke that feeling of flight.

She’d even managed to turn around once, but it was a short lived victory. She’d tripped less than a minute in, her blade catching an edge wrong, and barely managed to keep herself from landing on her ass. Still, going forward was working so she decided that was good enough for her.

Hoots and hollers drew her attention to the hockey rink as a single player was weaving his way through the opposition towards the net. Juvia watched as he spun around, wielding the puck with him, and evaded a guy coming straight at him.

His wild black hair struck her as familiar and she had to chide herself over yet again thinking of Gray. Still, she couldn’t help but watch the man, he passed to a teammate, some blonde boy with a toothy grin, and managed to deke around a burly green haired man in order to get the puck that was already being passed back. He was just a few feet from the net.

“Shoot it, Gray!”

The command came from behind her, probably the goalie on the other side, but Juvia felt herself come to an abrupt halt at the name.

The person behind her collided into her, and sent her sprawling. It was her own fault, so she bit back the curses as the two of them worked to untangle themselves. Her palms stung from hitting the ice and one of her knees were in agony.

She muttered an apology as the stranger helped her up, offering one of their own.  He asked if she was okay and once she nodded, he was off again. She shifted towards the side, allowing people to go by as she dusted the ice flakes from her clothes, and waited for the pain to subside.

“Juvia?”

She recognized that voice. Slowly she turned around and found herself face to face with Gray.

“What are you doing here?”

She was frozen in place, and for once completely caught off guard. She should have known better than to trust Lyon’s declaration of good luck, nothing ever went as planned in her life.

“Skating?” She offered, because she really didn't have anything else. Her mind is whirling a mile a minute trying to come up with a good excuse before he could ask that inevitable question.

“Where’s Lyon?”

Damnit.

Gray’s gaze searched the crowd behind her, and Juvia knew there was no way she could pull off telling him Lyon was in the bathroom.

“He’s not here.” It was the truth, but she needed to come up with a reason, quickly.

“What? Why not?” By this point Gray was standing opposite her, with just a fence separating them, and she could see the other players peering over at them.  Because that was just what she needed, an audience.

“Umm, well,” she shifted in place and bit down on her lip, before forcing herself to stop both. Confidence was key at this point. What was a good reason for her to not be with Lyon; there had to be at least one.

Gray’s frown deepened. "I thought you two were going on a date.”

“We were! It's just… while we were out, you see, we, uh… WeranintoSherry!” The excuse came out in a rush of words, and Gray quirked an eyebrow at her.

“You what?”

“We ran into Sherry,” she repeated. slowly this time, with more confidence. Now that she'd said it, the lie formed quickly in her mind. “They started talking, and, I mean, it's always a bit awkward to run into your ex; let alone when you're with your current partner. But after the whole thing with Chelia I got the impression there were still some things that those two needed to sort out. So, I came here.”

Gray scowled as he spat out his next question. “Lyon asked you to leave them alone?”

“What? No,” Juvia corrected, “no, he'd never. I offered.”

“Why would you willing offer to leave your boyfriend alone with his ex?”

“Because they clearly had things they needed to talk out, and I'm secure in my relationship, and I trust my partner?”

“You don't think you'd want to know what it is they have to talk about?”

Juvia wasn't sure what to make of Gray’s hostility. He seemed genuinely pissed off that Lyon was spending time with his ex, instead of with her and she had no idea why.

She let out a sigh. “It's not like they're gonna talk about anything that Lyon hasn't already told me.”

“You sure about that?”

“I'm one hundred percent sure of that.” Juvia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You can’t be sure of that. No one learns everything there is to know about a person in under two years.”

This conversation was ridiculous. Gray knew nothing about Lyon, and yet he was talking to her like he was some kind of expert on the man. “Gray, I know about Lyon wetting the bed in second grade. I know he used to raid Ultear's closet for costume pieces and props. I know Sherry cheated on him, I know that she regretted it and she wanted him back. I know he turned her down because he didn't love her. I know Lyon, and I trust him. So yeah, I'm pretty sure I know what they're talking about.”

“He told you about that?”

“Yep.” Juvia wasn’t entirely sure which ‘that’ he was talking about, but it was the first thing he’d said to her that wasn’t laced with hostility and she was desperate to change the topic. “So, I thought you said you had a practice today?”

“Uh, yeah,” Gray replied, gesturing to himself and the rink behind him.

Juvia pursed her lips. “But Lyon said you practice at the rink in Eranthis.”

“I used to,” Gray admitted, crossing his arms over his chest, “but Bacchus and his friends are there more often than not, and it’s just become more of a headache than it’s worth. Met these guys through Natsu,” Gray nodded back towards the small group of hockey players. 

They were chatting with a couple girls across the rink, but waved when she looked over. 

Juvia offered a small wave back before returning her focus to Gray. 

“They’re pretty good, told me about this place, and offered to let me share the ice with them so-”

A hand clapped Gray on the shoulder, startling both of them.

“Yo, Gray! You gonna introduce us to your girl or what?”

Gray scowled at the blond boy beside him. “She’s not my girl.”

“Really? Well then.” The blond gave Juvia a full once over before leaning into the metal fence separating the rinks. “Hi there.”

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“Dude, she’s dating my brother,” Gray said, and shoved the boy lightly. “And even if she wasn’t, I’m pretty sure she’s not interested in some high school kid.”    


“Harsh, man. Harsh.”

“Sting! Gray! We playin’ or what?” a black haired boy called out.

The blond, Sting, she guessed, whipped his head around and hollered back, “In a minute man! Just meeting Gray’s hot friend!”

Gray snorted, and Juvia noticed one of the girls he’d been with crossed her arms over her chest and glared in Juvia’s direction.

“I think you just pissed her off,” Juvia announced, pointing towards the glowering dark haired woman.

Sting stiffened as he noticed who she was pointing at. “Fuck. Gonna get an earful for that one,” he said. He turned back to Juvia and offered her a blinding smile “So you gonna come watch us play? Gray needs a cheerleader.”

“No thanks, I was really just looking forwards to doing some skating,” she replied, shooting a nervous glance Gray’s way.

He flashed her a small smile. “That’s cool.”

“Probably for the best anyways, since we’re gonna kick your ass this time!” Sting declared.

“Haha, you wish. But, I think I’ll spare you guys the embarrassment of another ass whooping and call it quits,” Gray said.

“Bailing on us already, man, that’s weak.”

“Yeah, well, I was just thinking I was in the mood to do a little free skating,” Gray said as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Uh huh, gotcha,” Sting said, grinning like a madman. He slowly started skating backwards, his hand forming guns that he shot in their direction with double click of his tongue and a wink. “Well, you enjoy that free skate.”

Gray let out a resounding groan, and face palmed.

Heat had spread like wildfire across Juvia’s cheeks. “Umm, that’s sweet but you really don’t need to end your practice just to keep me comp-“

“Who said I was?” Gray asked, eyes boring into her.

She felt a shiver run down her spine at their intensity, and her cheeks just kept getting warmer. It was true, he hadn’t said anything about keeping her company, she’d just assumed he’d intended to at least skate with her.

“Sorry, I just tho-“

“It’s fine.”

He cut her off again and Juvia fought the urge to huff in frustration and stomp her foot.

“I mean, I don’t mind joining you; if you’d like me to?” Gray amended, glancing around at anyone and anything but her.

She looked up at him, and her heart fluttered at the slight flush of his cheeks. She bit her lip to try and hid her smile. “Sure, I’d like that.”

Gray’s gaze snapped to hers. “Really?” He coughed and quickly cleared his throat. “I mean, sounds good. I’ll just, uhh, yeah.

Juvia giggled as he gestured to the exit at the far end of the arena. He huffed in response and skated off, leaving her to trail after him and meet him over at the entrance to her side.

Maybe Lyon was right. Maybe today was their lucky day.

* * *

 

Lyon was on cloud nine. To say that the date was going swimmingly would be a sincere understatement. They’d been talking for just over an hour, and were each on their third cup of coffee. 

Honestly, if Lyon had thought talking to Mered online had been easy, in person it was even easier. Their conversation flowed naturally, from coffee orders to school. They talked about Mered’s foster parents, and the fact that he was looking to do an internship at his sister’s legal firm. Lyon talked about his mom’s gallery show, and was now lamenting over one of his biggest frustrations. 

“-she’s super pissed, but then we wake up and it’s like nothing ever happened!” 

“Maybe they talk at night?” Mered suggested.

“When would they have time? She goes to bed when I do and Gray is still dead to the world when I get up.”

“Maybe she's not really going to bed? Or maybe he's sneaking into her room? Eh?” Mered said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Lyon scrunched his face up in response and Mered burst out laughing. 

Lyon glowered at him, and tried to erase the mental image of Gray sneaking into bed with Juvia. It helped that Lyon shared a bed with her, so knew that wasn't happening but still…. 

It suddenly occurred to him that maybe it was the other way around. A knot twisted in his gut “Ugh, no. Just- no.”

“Aww why not? I think they'd make a cute couple. ‘Sides, if it worked out then she’d become your sister.”

Lyon shuddered. “She is not marrying him,” he insisted, fingers tugging at his hair in frustration, “and you can't say they'd look good together, you've never even met Gray.”

Mered but his lip and he slowly gave Lyon a once over. “I know what you look like.”

“Gray looks nothing like me! We aren't even related.”

“So you keep telling me.” Mered stuffed another bite of the brownie sitting between them into his mouth.

“Hey, at least let me have a little bite. I did buy it after all,” Lyon teased, grabbing his fork and moving to stab a piece of the brownie with it. 

“No way! You bought it for me, it’s mine,” Mered said, shoving Lyon's hand away from the food. “If you wanted one you should have bought one for yourself. Sides, you're always whining about needing to watch your figure, so I'm just saving you from regret later.”

Lyon rolled his eyes. “My hero.”

“I know right?”

Lyon snorted and smirked at him. He leaned forward, folding his arms on the table and continued to watch Mered devour the treat. 

It made him oddly happy.

“So, what are the chances that I get to meet your parents before Christmas?” Mered asked, flashing him a small smile. 

Lyon felt as though his heart had stopped. He was completely poleaxed by the question, and wasn’t sure where it came from, never mind how to answer it. 

“Uh, well, I mean, they’ve been pretty busy with the show, and we still need to get the house decorated, so I’m not really* sure there will be time.”

Mered’s smile faltered and his brows furrowed ever so slightly. “Oh come on, the show is tomorrow, and then there’s three days before Christmas. Surely there must be a bit of time? It doesn’t even have to be something special. I can share if they have other company.” 

Lyon shifted uncomfortably against the leather cushions. His mind immediately thought about the party his parents were hosting on Friday, and for a brief moment he wondered what would happen if he asked Mered to come. 

His parents did say that he and Juvia could invite their own friends, and it would be nice to get to spend more time with him. Lyon’s just wasn’t sure how to really broach the issue that the invitation would be for him to come as a friend. 

It was all too clear that Mered wasn’t aware that Lyon wasn’t out to his family, and it was his own damn fault. His profile clearly stated that he was out, and it was true, he was out at college. That was the only place he’d dated before today, so it had never been relevant to announce that he was still in the closet at home. 

It was a stupid oversight on his part. One that could have, and should have, been cleared up ages ago, but Lyon had completely forgotten about it. 

He bit his lower lip and tried to reassure himself that Mered would understand, but the way he was frowning had Lyon’s stomach in knots. 

“So, listen, there’s actually this party that my parents are hosting on Friday. They do it every year and they invite half the neighbourhood.* and we’re always encouraged to bring people-”

“That sounds awesome. I’d love to go,” Mered interrupted, a bright smile on his face all over again. 

Lyon felt his heart clench. He had no idea how to say the next part without sounding like a complete ass, but he had to, because there’s no other way for him to make this work.   
  
“That’s great,” he said, threading his fingers through his hair, “but there’s a small problem.”  
  
“Problem?”

“Yeah, look, there’s no easy way for me to say this, and really I should have told you before now, but I just- it completely slipped my mind and I’m sorry. But, well….” He paused and drew in a deep breath. “My family doesn’t know I’m gay.” 

Mered’s smile disappeared yet again, and he stared back at Lyon blankly. 

Lyon’s heart thundered in his ears, and he held his breath, desperately waiting for a response. He was beyond terrified, and prayed to anyone that would listen that Mered would understand. Everything had been perfect up until now, and he was begging for his luck to hold out just a little longer. 

“But your profile said you were out.” 

That wasn’t a good sign. Lyon’s chest constricted, and he swore he couldn’t breath. He already regretted mentioning the party, cursing himself for not lying and just saying they were busy. 

“I know, and I am. I’m out at college, but I’m just not out here.”

Mered took a deep breath. “Okay, well, I wish you’d told me, but it’s okay. We can figure it out.” 

Lyon let out a long breath, and slumped back in the seats as relief washed over him. “Thank you, thank you for understanding. I am so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I swear I meant to!”

“It’s okay, really. I know it’s hard coming out to people, but I’m kinda glad actually. It means I can be right there beside you when you tell them. We just have deci-"

Mered kept talking but Lyon couldn’t hear what he was saying. His heart was racing a mile a minute, because he had to have just misheard. “I’m sorry, when I what?” 

“Uh, when you want to tell them? I was just saying we need to decide whether you want to tell them before or after the party.”

Lyon just stared at him. His mind was blank, and his chest was tight. 

Mered’s brows furrowed. “Lyon?”

“You want me to come out?” His voice sounded distant to his own ears. Was this really happening? It felt surreal and he was almost certain he was going to be sick. Was this really happening all over again? 

“Of course I do,” Mered said, his shoulders were tense, and his gaze was boring into Lyon. “Don’t you want to?”

No. No he didn’t. He hadn’t wanted to come out at college either, but he had, and it was a disaster. Sure it was fine now but he went through months of pain before that, and that was there. Here? It would be hell, a waking nightmare. 

“You don’t want to.” Accusation was laced through Mered’s tone.

“No, I don’t.” 

“Why not?” 

“Why the hell would I?” 

Mered recoiled from him, and a moment later was up and out of the booth and storming towards the door.

“Mered wait!” Lyon called out, scrambling after him. He could feel several pairs of eyes on him as he rushed out the door, but he struggled to care at this point. 

Mered had just made it to the street corner when Lyon caught up to him. He reached out and grabbed Mered’s wrist, halting him. “I said wait! Where are you going?”

Mered yanked his hand free and spun to face him. “I’m going home. We’re done here.” 

Pain lanced through Lyon’s heart. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t he understand that Lyon just wasn’t ready for this step? They just met in person today, he couldn’t just go demanding something like this so fast, it wasn’t fair. 

“No we’re not! Come on, I didn't mean it like that.”

“It doesn't matter how you meant it,” Mered shouted. He took a step back from Lyon and took a shaky breath. “The fact is I'm not a good enough reason for you to want to come out.”

“Not if you're my only reason. You don’t get to decide when I come out to my parents.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I sure as hell don’t have to wait around for you to grow a pair and do it either.” 

“But-”

“No. No buts. I’m not interested in being your dirty little secret, so call me when you’ve come out or don’t call me at all.” With that Mered turned his back and kept walking.

Lyon stood there, frozen in place, watching as Mered stalked out of his life. Some part of Lyon demanded that he run after him, but his whole body was shaking and he felt like his legs might give out on him. 

People brushed by him as they walked on and finally he managed to stumble down the side street away from the main street. He stopped behind the store and leaned against the building. He bent over, head bowed as he fought to breathe. His vision was blurry and he could feel hot tears streaking down his cheeks. 

He’d lost him. Not even one date in and already he’d fucked it all up. 

With shaking hands, Lyon fished his phone out of his pocket. He struggled for a moment, before hitting the call button next to the name at the top of his favourites list. He took a shaky breath, brought the phone to his ear, and prayed for an answer.

Steam rose from the small paper cup clutched between Juvia’s hands. The hot chocolate smelled sweet, but it tasted watery; no doubt because all the powder was stuck to the bottom of the cup.

* * *

 

It was par for the course with these small little stands, and one of the reasons Juvia usually avoided buying hot chocolate. But Gray had insisted on treating her, especially when he found out she'd never had a caramade frank.

It was something she would never have ordered for herself, it was a sausage, wrapped in a bun that was pretty much soaked in caramel sauce. 

Just picking it up and figuring out how to take a bite was a chore. Gray had burst out laughing as she’d stared at the treat, before finally showing her how to eat it. But despite the mess, and unlike the hot chocolate, the caramade frank was delicious. Well worth the effort it took to clean her fingers and mouth afterwards. 

“Told ya you were missing out. I can’t believe Lyon’s never bought you Caramade Franks!” Gray said, grinning at her like a child.

“I’m pretty sure they don’t exist outside of this town,” Juvia replied. “Besides Lyon would starve before eating something with this many calories.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “Just ‘cause he’s decided to eat like a bird doesn’t mean you have to. He could have just gotten ya one.” 

Juvia shrugged. “Yeah, well, that’s just survival instincts. Sugars don’t last me that long, and when I crash it’s not pretty.”

“So you’re saying I should plan to take you to dinner soon?” 

Juvia froze and stared at him with wide eyes.

Gray smirked, and let out a soft chuckle. “Relax. You look like someone just caught you with your hand in the cookie jar. I’m just offering to feed you so you don’t bite my head off. Had enough of that thank you.”

Right. That made sense. Much more sense than him trying to ask her out. 

She knew she was getting ahead of herself, but it was hard not to feel like they were on a date, or like he was flirting with her. It was weird, usually she missed such things until someone spelt it out for her. It wasn’t until Bora had his tongue down her throat that she’d realized he’d been interested. But with Gray… well she chalked it up to wishful thinking.

She bit her lower lip, and cursed the fact that she was still blushing. “Sorry, it’s just that Lyon can get a bit-”

_ “I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love _

_ Love's going to leave me” _

Both Juvia and Gray stared at each other for a moment as the music blared from beside her. It took less than a second for her to put two and two together, and decide that she was going to kill Lyon. 

“Oh my god,” she muttered and quickly started riffling through her purse, desperate to find her phone.

She could feel Gray’s eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. She didn’t want to know just how weird he thought she was.

_ “I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt _

_ So sexy it hurts” _

Finally she managed to fish her phone out and let out a shrill squeak when she saw the picture on her locked screen. Her hand clamped over her mouth as she struggled to suppress her laughter.

Lyon’s name was displayed at the top of the screen and beneath it was a selfie taken of him, topless, and duck facing. 

_ “And I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan _

_ New York and Japan” _

Gray peered over her shoulder, and let out a loud bark of laughter. “Oh man, nice picture! You gotta send that one to me. Does he know you have it?”

“Yes,” Juvia replied, while the ringtone continued to go off. She took a deep breath and stifled another fit of giggles. “He must have taken that this morning! Ugh, he always does this. He’ll change his ringtone at least once a month, and set a picture that matches.”

“Seriously? You mean you have more pictures like that?”

“Yes, and no you are not seeing them,” Juvia said.

The ringtone paused, before starting over. 

“Now shut up, I have to take this.”

Juvia swiped her finger over the answer button, and held the phone up to her ear. “Oh my god! I can’t believe you changed your ringtone to I’m Too Sexy! I hope you’re prepared to deal with the aftermath of that one cause Gray’s righ-”

_ “J-Juvia.” _


	11. All Is Full Of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lyon is broken and Juvia is there to pick up the pieces, because that's what best friends are for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I realize I've kept a lot of you waiting, but hey, the chapter is over 11k so hopefully that makes up for some of it. Anyways there's a lot going on in this chapter, and there are a couple songs in it so I think it's time I share an IKYSS playlist. It can be found here: http://8tracks.com/katelynn-c-109788/ikyss-playlist-1 (Songs 2 and 3)
> 
> The first song in this chapter is "Life of the Party" - by Shawn Mendes. The second is "All is full of Love" - by Death Cab for Cutie and it's a cover. Bjork sings the original. I strongly recommend listening to the second song when the scene comes up as it definitely sets the mood.
> 
> Anyways I'll stop rambling and let you enjoy this chapter. A big thank you to those who have left kudo's and comments.

**Chapter 11: All is full of love**

* * *

Juvia's laughter died at the sound of Lyon's voice. Her brows knitted in concern. She could hear his ragged breaths through the phone and then a choked sob.

"Lyon? What happened? Are you okay?"

He whimpered and she was certain he was muffling more sobs.

"Lyon? Talk to me."

_"I fucked up. I fucked up, and he left."_

"Oh, hun-"

_"Can you please come get me?"_

"Of course," Juvia replied, as she began shoving her skates and other items into her bag, "just tell me where you are."

" _I'm- I'm just behind the video store. The one… at the end… of the block."_

He was sobbing again and Juvia's heart clenched. She finished shoving everything into her bag, threw it over her shoulder, and reached for her purse.

"I'll be right there, okay? Just stay put."

She heard him murmur an affirmative before the line went dead.

She shoved her phone in her purse, and threw it over her other shoulder as she hopped up from the bench. She was about to run to the car, when she remembered Gray. She stopped and turned to face him. He was staring at her, brow furrowed and mouth parted as if he was about to say something.

"I have to go."

"Just give me a minute, I'm coming with you," Gray commanded, following her lead, and stuffing the few items he'd hadn't already packed into his hockey bag.

"No you're not! I've got this, it's fine," Juvia replied, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Like hell I'm not," Gray snarled, slamming his hands down on the picnic table as he stood up. "He's my brother, I'm coming with you."

"Argh! I don't have time for this," she said, and whipped around, storming off towards the car.

Gray was beside her in a flash. "Good, then stop arguing with me and just let me come with you."

Juvia wanted to scream. The last thing Lyon needed right now was Gray asking questions. There was no way either of them were gonna come up with anything plausible. "He's not going to want you there."

"I don't give a fuck what he wants. He can get the fuck over himself."

Juvia whirled around on him. "To do what? What exactly are you gonna do that will be of any help Gray?"

He stopped dead, right in front of her, and looked taken aback.

Guilt swirled in Juvia's gut. That was a horrible thing to say, but she needed to go get Lyon and she knew that she wasn't gonna be able to get anything out of him if Gray was there.

"I'll drive back to the house." Gray's voice was firm and he stared at her intently.

"What? I can dri-"

"You're going to want to comfort him, and if he's a wreck you're going to be distracted and won't be fully focused on driving. It's safer for both of you if I drive," he insisted. Gray sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Please, I just- I'd feel better knowing you both were safe."

She wanted to protest. She really did, but he'd fixed her with a pleading look and she couldn't deny that he had a point with the driving. She sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. Let's go."

Gray nodded and followed quietly.

* * *

Lyon was probably going to kill her, but there was little she could do at this point. If she protested any harder it would be suspicious, and it wasn't her fault Gray had been at the skating rink.

She'd fired off a quick warning text as she'd circled the car to the driver side.

_Juvia: Heads up, ran into Gray at the rink, he was there for the call and I can't shake him. Told him you were with Sherry._

It wasn't much, but she didn't have time to really go into detail. She just had to hope Lyon wouldn't say anything to contradict her until she managed to talk to him alone and explain.

"So what happened?" Gray asked, interrupting her inner monologue of panic.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? He must have said something," Gray insisted.

_'I fucked up. I fucked up, and he left.'_

Lyon's words sprang to mind and Juvia bit down on her lip. She couldn't tell Gray what had happened, but he didn't seem keen on dropping the subject without some sort of an answer.

"He said they'd had a fight."

It was the truth, minus the fact that Gray thought she was talking about Sherry.

"They did?" He sounded shocked, but she caught the way his brow furrowed a moment later. "About what?"

"I don't know," she huffed. Her fingers drummed against the wheel as she fought back the urge to tell him to shut up and mind his own business.

"I thought you said he told you everything."

"He does," she snapped. "He's just upset, and it's probably not the kind of thing he'd want to get into over the phone while standing in the street. He'll tell me once he's calmed down."

Gray was glaring at her. He took a deep, ragged breath before deciding to turn and stare out the window.

Juvia felt herself relax a little, and she took a breath of her own, letting the tension that had built up in her muscles uncoil. This trip was so bad for her stress levels, it was ridiculous.

"I hope he does," Gray murmured.

She glanced at him then.

His head was pressed against the window, eyes staring aimlessly at the scenery as it whipped by. His shoulders sagged, and then his brows knitted together, frustration evident on his face before morphing back into a look of resignation. Finally, his eyes met hers through the reflection in the glass and Juvia quickly refocused on the road.

For just a fraction of a second, Juvia found herself wondering if there was a chance Lyon wouldn't tell her. If he would lie to her about what had happened.

She sighed and shook her head, knowing that wouldn't happen. After all, she was the liar in their relationship.

* * *

Lyon sat hunched over on a thin ledge at the back of the video shop, leg bouncing as he waited for Juvia to come get him.

Or Juvia and Gray, as it was.

What Gray was doing at a rink in Edelweiss, Lyon had no idea, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel outraged or bothered. Even his concern over Gray finding out the truth was a dull flicker of emotion. It lasted just long enough for him to stop the constant onslaught of tears. The only thing he really felt was a hollow feeling in his chest. It tingled, itched and twisted his stomach in knots, leaving him feeling restless. He needed to do something, anything, to fix this. But the reality was he couldn't; not unless he came out to his family. And he wasn't doing that. He was not coming out again at someone else's insistence. He'd sworn he wouldn't make that same mistake.

If Mered couldn't wait then he wasn't worth it.

Except that, that was a lie. Because Mered might be worth it, he just wasn't ready. It just wasn't fair.

Then again, life had never really been fair to Lyon.

The sound of gravel crackling and crunching under tires alerted Lyon to his ride.

Juvia had parked at the far side of the lot, and was already climbing out of the car. She leaned down and said something to Gray that he couldn't hear, before standing and facing him. Concern was written all over her face as she crossed the distance.

The passenger side door swung open and Gray slipped out. He turned and their eyes locked. Gray's expression was solemn, and his gaze was stormy. He strode forward, but hesitated at the end of the car, before slumping against the bumper.

Juvia reached him then, throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping him up in a tight hug.

Lyon took a deep breath, breathing in her soft floral body spray before returning the hug.

"I am so, so sorry Lyon," she whispered.

He held her tighter, burying his head into her neck. His hands gripped the back of her coat as he fought a fresh wave of tears. He swallowed hard, and she began running soothing circles into his back, shushing him and mumbling words of "It's okay," and "I'm here," over and over again.

Lyon took another shaky breath and quickly brushed the tears away. He was not doing this here. It was bad enough that random strangers had overheard the fight but he was not going to cry in front of Gray.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, pulling back from Juvia's embrace. He needed some space if he was going to keep it together.

It was too easy to feel safe with her, and to let his emotions overwhelm him.

She let him go reluctantly.

He took another shaky breath and leaned back against the brick wall behind him.

Juvia stood between his knees, positioned just over him, shielding him from Gray and anyone else.

He wasn't sure if she realized it, or if it was just something instinctive she did with him when he was upset. Either way he was grateful for it. He focused on slowing his breathing, and collecting himself.

"What happened?"

Lyon clamped his eyes shut and shook his head. "I- I can't. I can't talk about this right now."

She hummed in understanding and her slender fingers threaded through his hair, stroking in soothing motions.

"I'm really sorry about Gray. I swear I tried to tell him not to come, he just got really obstinate and I couldn't come up with anything reasonable to stop him," she said.

"It's fine," Lyon replied. "Can we please just go?"

"Uh yeah…. It's just, I told him you were talking to Sherry, and that was why we weren't together. And now I have no idea what to tell him."

"Honestly Juvia, I don't really care right now. He can just mind his own business and deal with the fact that he doesn't have a right to know," Lyon snarled.

Juvia withdrew from him a little too quickly. She refused to meet his gaze and her arms folded around herself.

Lyon wanted to kick himself. He kept saying things without thinking them through and it was not going well at all. "Shit. I'm sorry, I didn't me-"

"It's fine." She still wouldn't look at him, and it was obvious from her frown that it wasn't fine.

"Juvia, please, don't be like this. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I know," she huffed. Her eyes darted up to meet his and finally her facial expression softened a little. "I know you're just upset. I get it. I'm just trying to do damage control for the rest of your life, and could use a little cooperation."

Lyon sighed and threaded his fingers through his hair. "I get that, I just…. I can't think about this right now, it's killing me. I just want to be a hundred miles from here, and I'm not."

He slumped back against the wall and fought down another emotional wave. The truth was he didn't even want to go home. He didn't want to face his parents right now and have to play the perfect son, but what other choice did he have?

"It's okay," Juvia said, wrapping her arms back around him. "Let's just get you home, and then you can go lock yourself upstairs and I'll deal with your family."

"How?" Lyon asked, his voice muffled a bit by her coat. He let his arms slip around her waist to return the hug.

Juvia let out a deep sigh. "I have no idea, but I'll figure it out. Just leave it to me okay?"

Lyon nodded against her shoulder, and pulled her closer tightening his arms around her.

"Come on, Gray's gonna drive us home so I can sit in the back with you."

Lyon stiffened. Several protests hung on his lips, but he let them die. He was really too tired to argue. "'Kay."

Juvia pulled away slowly, but her hand found his, and she didn't let go. Not once on the entire trip home did her hand leave his, and for that he was truly grateful.

* * *

 

The car ride back to Eranthis was completely silent, save for the radio. Juvia sat in the middle seat, choosing to minimize the distance between her and Lyon. She held tight to his hand and refused to let go, hoping that the action would anchor him.

More than once she'd caught Gray's gaze through the rear view mirror. Concern and curiosity were written on his face, but he kept quiet, and she was grateful for it. She needed the time to think.

It was almost four, and Lyon's parents would likely be home by the time they got there, and she was pretty sure they'd have questions. Questions she needed to be able to answer vaguely enough that they could alter it on the fly, but well enough that they wouldn't feel the need to ask Lyon questions later.

For his part, Lyon managed to contain any emotional outbursts. Instead he stared listlessly out the window, looking like someone had just run over his dog. It was beyond obvious he was upset, and she doubted he'd manage to pull it together well enough to convince his parents that nothing was wrong.

As they pulled into the driveway, Lyon turned to look at her. His panic was evident and Juvia leaned into him, rubbing his arm with her free hand.

"It's gonna be okay," she murmured. "I'm with you."

He leaned forward, closed his eyes and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. She gave his hand a squeeze in response. Her arm was trapped between them awkwardly and she let it fall to his lap.

They stayed like that for a moment and she heard Gray huff as he climbed out on the car. The door clicked behind him before Lyon spoke.

"You sure you got this?"

She hesitated in her reply. She had a half-constructed tale about meeting Sherry, but beyond that she was gonna have to wing it.

"No, I'm not, but I've lied myself out of worse scenarios, with far less to go on."

He sighed and pulled away. Their eyes locked and Juvia's heart fluttered. Sometimes, he would look at her like she was his salvation, and she'd yet to get used to those moments.

This was one of them.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Juvia nodded.

Lyon took a deep breath and grabbed the car door handle. "Well, here goes nothing."

* * *

Gray had gone in ahead of them, and when Juvia and Lyon stepped through the front door they were met with three pairs of concerned eyes.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Ur asked, taking a couple steps towards Lyon.

Lyon shifted behind Juvia and his hand dropped from hers.

"I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it." The waver and strain in his voice were painfully obvious, and rendered the lie useless. Never mind the fact that Gray had clearly told his parents something was up.

Juvia twisted around and watched as he tugged his coat off. He slid the closet door open with far too much force. The bang echoed through the house, and Juvia flinched.

"Lyon? Sweetie, talk to us. Are you okay?" Ur tried again.

Lyon simply ignored her. His hands were shaking as he reached for the coat hanger.

Juvia immediately placed her hand back over his. "Hey, hey, calm down. It's okay."

Lyon took a shaky breath and shot her a pleading look.

"I've got this," she insisted, taking the hanger and coat from his hands. "Why don't you go upstairs and take a warm shower? You were waiting out in cold for a while, and probably caught a bit of a chill."

Lyon nodded and brushed past her heading straight for the stairs. He paused as he passed his mom. He couldn't quite meet her gaze. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm okay, really. I just- I need some space right now."

With that said, he rushed up the stairs, leaving Juvia with his family.

She let out a sigh as she watched him go, waiting until the bathroom door had closed behind him before actually hanging up his coat, followed by her own.

The silence was deafening and she knew they were waiting for her to say something. She felt an overwhelming surge of guilt over what she was about to do. They were all clearly just worried about him. Even Gray.

When she heard the telltale sound of water running she released the breath she'd been holding. "Sorry, I know you're all worried. He's just having a bit of a moment. I don't think he's really ready to talk about it."

"So he didn't tell you what happened when you two were talking?" Gray asked.

Juvia shook her head. "No. I mean, he told me they had a fight, but that's about it. I tried pressing but he just shut down on me."

She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, leaning back against their front door.

"I thought you said he told you everything?" Gray said.

Juvia frowned. How many times was he going to ask her that?

"Gray," Silver chastised.

Juvia shrugged. "He does, but it's not always right away. The back parking lot of a video store is hardly the place for someone to pour their heart out."

"It's not your fault dear," Ur assured her. "Honestly, I'd expected this kind of outburst when he'd first broken up with Sherry. They were dating for years; absolutely smitten with each other. Then she just goes and throws it all away for some..."

Ur halted her sentence, drew in a deep breath and held it. Her face twisted with anger, and her fists clenched at her sides. A moment later she exhaled, looking just a tad calmer. "Sorry, I don't like speaking ill of people, but that girl…. I just can't believe she'd go and pick a fight with him after what she did. I'm tempted to give her a piece of my mind right now."

Juvia's heart surged to a gallop against her chest, and her hands flew up in a placating gesture.

"Now Ur, I think you need to calm down," Silver urged.

"Silver…" She glowered at him.

"We shouldn't go jumping to conclusions when we don't know what happened," Silver insisted. He turned to Juvia. "Why don't you walk us through what happened and we can all try and piece this together?"

Juvia swallowed hard, but nodded. At least she'd managed to come up with something for this part.

"Well, as you know, Lyon and I were out in Eranthis. We were going to go grab a coffee and some lunch on the main strip when we ran into Sherry. Anyways, they started making small talk and it was a little awkward, but I kinda got the impression from her little cousin that they might have some unresolved tensions-"

"Chelia was there?" Ur asked.

"Huh? Oh, no. We met her in the mall the other day. She spent the entire time glaring daggers at me," Juvia explained.

"Okay, so you run into Sherry, alone, and she and Lyon are talking," Silver prompted.

Juvia nodded. "Right, they're talking. Lyon had told me how things had ended between them, and I know he's been harbouring some guilt about it all-"

"What does he have to feel guilty about? After what she did, she's lucky-"

"Mom!"

"What?"

"Stop interrupting," Gray commanded. "You hate Sherry; we get it."

Ur scowled. "I don't hate her Gray; I just don't like the way she treated Lyon, and I can hardly be blamed for that."

"Whatever. Do you want Juvia to tell you what happened or not?"

Ur looked like she wanted to keep going but she held her tongue.

"As you were saying," Gray said, nodding at Juvia.

Juvia faced Ur and locked eyes with her. She'd known Lyon's family didn't have the full story about his breakup with Sherry, but it was clear Ur was even less informed than she'd thought.

"To answer your question, he feels guilty because he told Sherry he never loved her."

"That's ridiculous. Of course he-"

"Mother!" Gray hissed.

Juvia held her hand up towards him, cutting off another lecture. "Gray, it's easier if I just answer her questions, and then explain what happened. None of this will make any sense if I don't."

"Fine."

Silver stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Ur's waist. "Maybe we should take this conversation into the living room. There's obviously a lot to talk about, and I doubt Lyon would appreciate us continuing to carry on a conversation about him at the front door."

"That sounds good," Juvia replied, shooting him a small smile as he ushered Ur towards the couch. Juvia and Gray followed. She settled onto the loveseat and Gray flopped down onto the recliner.

Juvia took a moment to recompose herself and mentally prepare for the potential onslaught of questions that were likely to follow. Her eyes darted up, and she felt a small smile tug at her lips at the sight in front of her.

Silver had reached over and taken one of Ur's hands between both of his, and was rubbing circles into it with his thumb. It was a small gesture, but it was one Juvia performed almost daily between her and Lyon. Seeing it replicated between Ur and Silver made her feel oddly calm.

Taking a deep breath Juvia dove back into the conversation. "Look, I know you're pretty upset about Sherry cheating on Lyon, and that's understandable. But Lyon didn't feel the same way about it. I mean, he was upset, but it didn't break him. He admitted to me that he felt like things weren't working out between them and that it just gave him a good reason to finally end things."

Juvia could just barely make out the sound of a door opening in the distance, and she paused, listening carefully to the sound of footfalls on the floor. She waited for the distinct thunk of another door closing, before continuing.

"Problem was, Sherry didn't want to accept it. She really did love him, and she kept begging him to give her another chance." Ur scoffed, but refrained from commenting. "Anyways, it's Lyon, so of course all the flowery words and perfectly thought out responses fly right out the window the minute he starts getting stressed, and so he just blurted out that he never loved her."

"Everyone says things they don't mean in arguments," Ur countered. "She can't just lord that over his head."

"Of course not. She makes a mistake and needs to be crucified, but Lyon is perfect and all his faults need to be forgiven," Gray muttered.

Ur whipped her head around to glare at him. "Gray, there's a big difference between cheating on someone and saying something you didn't mean during an argument."

"I know that, but just because she fucked up doesn't mean Lyon should just get a free pass to act like an asshole."

"Gray calm down," Silver commanded. "No one is saying he gets a free pass, but Ur's right. Just because Lyon said something hurtful doesn't mean Sherry had the right to go and attack him like this."

"We don't even know if that's what happened." Gray said, tugging at his hair in frustration. "Juvia was with me for over an hour, anything could have happened in that time."

Both Silver and Ur turned to stare at Juvia in confusion.

"You weren't with him?" Silver asked.

"Uh, no I wasn't."

"Well, why not? Why would you leave him alone with her? When did you leave them?" Ur fired off question after question, in rapid succession.

It left Juvia feeling more than a little defensive and she paused to try and reign in her own emotions. Snapping wouldn't help anyone.

"I'm pretty sure she was about to answer that before you started interrupting her," Gray said.

"Don't start sassing me Gray," Ur snapped back.

"Well then stop attacking her; Juvia didn't do anything wrong. She gave Lyon some space to sort out his issues privately, and then went running back to him the second he called her. Now she's sitting here trying to answer a million questions all because Lyon can't be bothered to talk to you about it himself. Cut her some slack."

Juvia was in shock. She really hadn't expected Gray to come to her defense like that. It wasn't something most people felt a need to do, believing that she was more than capable of defending herself.

A wave of gratitude washed over her and she sent a smile his way.

"I haven't been attacking her," Ur replied.

"Mm, I don't know about attacking, but you've been a bit aggressive," Silver conceded, patting her hand.

Ur gaped at Juvia, looking thoroughly ashamed. "Oh sweetie, I didn't mean- I swear, I'm not upset with you. I've just never seen Lyon so upset before."

"It's okay, I know you're just worried. I'm not taking it to heart."

"I just can't imagine what she could have said to hurt him so badly."

Gray let out a quiet huff and Juvia caught his eye roll out of the corner of her eye.

She felt a twinge of annoyance at the gesture. It was always one step forward and two steps back with those two. He'd been so concerned about Lyon after the call, even in the car, but the minute Ur started to voice her own feelings he switched gears. It should have frustrated her, but now that she knew about his past Juvia felt more pity than anything. It was clear to her that, when it came to Ur, Gray was still struggling with insecurities.

It was just tough because they were being taken out on her best friend.

Oh well, one person's issues at a time, and Lyon's took priority.

"I'm not sure either," Juvia admitted. "When I left him they were being amicable, and I can only guess at when things soured or why. Maybe it's best to just wait until he's ready instead of making assumptions?"

Silver and Ur seemed to mull the option over. Both wanted to know what had happened, but it was clear the answer wasn't about to present itself without talking to Lyon.

"Maybe you're right," Ur conceded with a sigh.

Juvia nodded, and stole a quick glance in the direction of the stairs. She'd been half listening for the telltale sounds of Lyon's dramatic spiral into despair while talking to his parents. She'd learned early on in their friendship that Lyon's bad moods were something that needed to be curbed as quickly as possible, lest they get out of hand.

"You want to go check on him don't you?" Silver asked.

Juvia shot him a guilty look. "I'm just worried."

"Go on, I'll take care of dinner."

"But-"

"I can survive cooking alone for a night," Silver teased.

Juvia bit down on her lip. She knew it wasn't a big deal, and she wasn't about to leave Lyon alone, but she couldn't help feeling torn. She liked cooking with Silver, and years of needing to be useful made it hard for her to abandon the one thing they were letting her help with.

"I can help with dinner," Gray offered.

Everyone else whipped their heads around to gape at him.

"What?" Gray said and scratched the back of his head. "I just want to be of some help. You're clearly torn 'cause you don't want to leave my dad to cook alone, but we're all worried about Lyon and it's not like he'll talk to us so…. You should go check on him."

Juvia offered him a soft smile. "Thanks Gray."

He responded with a curt nod.

Juvia took a deep breath and stood. She offered Ur and Silver a nervous smile. "Wish me luck."

* * *

 

Juvia's fears were completely founded. As she climbed the stairs the soft mournful music hit her, complete with a sorrowful female singer. Juvia was pretty sure it was Sarah McLaughlin.

The fact that she recognized the voice was a bad sign.

She paused at the door, stomach tight with knots. She could hear his muffled voice singing along to the chorus. At least it was steady, which meant he wasn't still crying. She was pretty sure that was a good thing.

Juvia took a deep breath, grabbed the doorknob and twisted.

* * *

 

At the sound of the door opening Lyon jolted upright in bed. His heart hammered in his chest and a dozen words rested on his lips ready to send the intruder away.

"Just me," Juvia announced as she slipped into his room, shutting the door again behind her. Lyon relaxed at the sight of her and fell back onto his bed, returning to his previous position of staring up at the ceiling.

A moment later his bed dipped and creaked, as Juvia climbed on and flopped face-down next to him. Her groan was muffled by the pillow.

"I guess the talk went well then?"

She huffed and rolled over onto her side so she could face him. Propping herself up with her arm, she said. "Could have gone worse. I managed to set the groundwork, they buy the whole Sherry thing, they just can't really figure out what she could have said to you to upset you so much, given that you weren't particularly upset when it all ended."

Lyon sighed. That was gonna be a tough one to explain.

"I suggested that it might be related to your guilt over the whole 'I never loved you' thing, but your mom kinda derailed the whole conversation after that to play twenty questions," Juvia explained.

Lyon winced. "You told her about that?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't realize they didn't know." Juvia bit down on her lip and sent him an apologetic glance. "If it makes you feel any better it took me a while to convince her you did, and I'm pretty sure she still thinks it was just something you said to get Sherry to back off."

It did and it didn't.

It did, because it was nice to know that even after all this time away, even though he hadn't called enough, and he hadn't come home, and he'd refused her visits; his mom still thought the world of him. It didn't, because he was tired of the pedestal she'd put him up on. He wasn't the perfect child anymore. Far from it, really, and he was just waiting for her to wake up and realize the truth. He was terrified of disappointing her, but he was also exhausted from having to keep up the charade. It was a push and pull internal battle that had been raging in his heart for years, and after today he was certain he'd lost on both ends.

Juvia sighed, and pushed herself up, rearranging herself and the pillows so she was sitting up against the headboard, before patting her lap. "Come here."

Lyon accepted the offer wordlessly. He rolled over and let his head fall into her lap, taking a deep breath. Her clothing had a faint floral scent to it from the fabric softener she used; he knew because he borrowed it rather frequently. He let out a long breath and draped an arm around her thighs.

Her fingers threaded through his hair, stroking, and massaging as they went. "You ready to tell me what happened?"

"Not really," he admitted.

Juvia huffed, but continued to play with his hair.

The silence between them was oppressive, and try as he might, Lyon couldn't properly relax. His argument with Mered kept replaying over and over again in his mind.

"He wanted to meet my parents."

Juvia's fingers halted for a moment, before resuming their tender caresses. "I guess you had to explain to him you weren't out to them yet?"

Lyon hummed and nodded.

"Was he mad about us?"

Lyon swallowed hard and shook his head. "I didn't get a chance to tell him about that."

"So, he was mad because you weren't out?" Juvia asked.

"Not exactly." Lyon sighed and shifted, twisting around to face her. He rested his head back in her lap and looked up into her eyes. "He was understanding about that, but he wanted me to come out to them with him."

Juvia tensed, her brows furrowed, and her fingers stopped. "You told him about what happened with Max right?"

"Didn't get the chance for that either."

"So he just freaked on you before you could explain?"

"No… I was the one freaking out. Internally, of course. But he could tell, and then he asked me why I didn't want to and…." Lyon glanced down at the sheets and let his words die in his throat.

He didn't dare continue. His throat was tightening already, and it felt like sandpaper.

Juvia sighed. "I'm guessing you spoke before thinking again."

Lyon nodded.

There was another moment of silence, before her fingers found their way into his hair again.

"Well, at least I know what to tell your parents now."

"Yeah," Lyon replied. At least there was that.

* * *

 

To say that Juvia was beyond done with Lyon's moping would be an understatement. A giant understatement. She hadn't gotten any further details from him, and he'd spent all of dinner sighing and pushing the food around his plate, dismissing everyone's questions.

Juvia had managed to pull his parents aside after dinner, and explain that Lyon had said something inappropriate to Sherry while upset, and that he was extremely reluctant to even think about it.

They still seemed concerned, but at least it got them to drop the matter.

Meanwhile, Lyon had followed Gray and Ultear into the living room, flopped down onto the loveseat, and went from moping to full on wallowing.

Juvia had watched and sympathized for about half an hour before deciding that something needed to be done, lest he end up bedridden tomorrow.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Juvia found herself pulling her garment bag from the closet, their conversation from the morning playing in her mind. She unzipped the bag and moved the first dress aside, pulling out a slinky black dress she'd never worn before. It was a dress Lyon had bought her over a year ago, back before he realized she wasn't the type to wear slinky black dresses.

It was cowl necked, lace backed, and had a hem line a few inches shorter than even her most daring dress. Basically it showed off just about everything, and required one of those tape on bras.

She'd packed it thinking it might come in handy if they ended up going out somewhere fancy where he might run into people he knew. Now she had a slightly different plan in mind.

She fished out her makeup bag from her suitcase and went to work.

* * *

 

It had taken almost an hour, but Juvia was pretty pleased with the result as she stared at her reflection in the full length mirror hanging on the back of the door to Lyon's room. She looked damn good.

She gave herself a final once over, before exiting the room.

She paused at the top of the stairs and took a deep breath as she tried to compose herself. She just needed to go down there, tell him they were going out and say she wasn't taking no for an answer.

Her the clack of her heels against the wooden stairs resounded through the house and announced her decent. She fought against the temptation to tug at the hem of her dress, and instead strode into the living room with a purpose.

Gray and Ultear's gazes landed on her the second she came into view. She caught Gray's eyes widening and his mouth popping open at the sight of her. Her ego swelled, but she forced herself to focus. She had a mission and she couldn't afford to get distracted.

Juvia came to a halt a few feet from Lyon. She planted her hands on her hips, and cocked one to the side as she announce her plans. "Get up and go get dressed, we're going dancing."

Lyon blinked slowly and glanced up from the book he'd been staring at. "Huh?"

"I said get up and get ready. You've been moping all evening, and I'm tired of it."

He frowned, and let his eyes wander over her. "Is that the dress I bought you?"

"Yep." Juvia bit back a frustrated groan. Of all the things for him to pay attention to right now.

"It looks great on you, but I thought you swore you'd never wear it?"

"Yeah, well, I figured you might need a little extra motivation tonight." Lyon sighed, and repositioned the bookmark in his book, even though he was still on the same page.

"Well I'm sorry to tell you, but there aren't any clubs in this town; or any other town nearby for that matter."

"I'm pretty sure you mentioned a country bar we could go dancing at earlier today."

Lyon huffed and shut the book, giving her another once over. "Juvia, you can't go to a country bar dressed like that, you'll stick out like a sore thumb."

"So?"

"So, people will think you're crazy, and a snob."

"Since when do you care what people think?" She challenged, crossing her arms beneath her chest, "You never cared back at college, or in Hargeon, and you sure as hell shouldn't care here. It's a bunch of random strangers in a bar, their opinions don't matter."

"I-" Lyon paused before sighing and looking away from her. His frustration was palpable as he scratched the back of his neck, no doubt trying to figure out a polite way to tell her to fuck off.

Well, apparently really desperate times, called for very desperate measures.

"You're gonna make me pull out the big guns aren't you?" Heat was creeping up her neck just at the thought of it. Normally she wouldn't care, but Gray and Ultear were both right there watching and she was certain his parents weren't far either.

Lyon threw her a questioning glance, his eyes darting to Ultear and Gray as if to say 'there's no way you'd do that now.'

Her cheeks burned, alerting her to her visible embarrassment and she shifted uncomfortably under the eyes of her would be audience.

Desperate times, desperate measures. Desperate times, desperate measures.

She repeated the thought over and over again to find her courage. She struggled to remember the words and finally gave up. She'd just need to skip to the part that mattered.

Taking a deep breath, she stood straight and fixed Lyon with a heartfelt stare before letting her voice erupt into song.

"Come out tonight, come out tonight. There's no one standing in your way." Her voice wavered and she paused.

She could see Ultear clamp a hand over her mouth, and heard a muttered "no way."

Yep, this was mortifying.

Lyon stared at her in shock, but said nothing. The bastard was really going to make her do this.

She took another deep breath and tried again. "Come out tonight, come out tonight. We don't care what them people say. We don't care what them people say."

She paused again, hoping against all hope that Lyon would jump in. He loved this song. She shot him another expectant look. Her nails bit into her palms as he stared back at her blankly.

"You're not seriously going to just sit there and make me sing alone are you?" she pleaded.

Lyon sat up and twisted around, setting his book to the side to give her his full attention. She felt a small spark of relief, that died a second later as he crossed his arms and leaned back into loveseat with a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe."

Juvia shot him a glare and flexed her fingers in frustration. If it was anyone else she'd walk then and there. Even Gajeel couldn't get her to embarrass herself like this. Well, okay, maybe Gajeel could, if he tried to. He just wasn't the type to lord power over her.

The point was, Lyon knew he was pushing her at this point. He knew her, and he knew she wouldn't just keep putting herself out there for nothing. He was expecting her to give up, and the smart part of her brain said she should.

But she couldn't. Deep down she knew his heart was breaking. More importantly, she new all the insecurities and fears that were running through his mind. Maybe he wasn't ready to talk, she could live with that. But she needed him to know he wasn't alone. She sighed and bowed her head, dropped her arms and took a deep breath, ready to see this stupid plan through.

"You can't really expect me to sing along when you've already skipped over half the song."

Juvia's head whipped up and she locked eyes with him. There was just the barest hint of a smile starting to appear on his lips, but his eyes had softened.

She smiled at him, and took a small step forward. "Right, of course not. How dare I commit such a sin."

"How dare you indeed. It's like you don't know me at all." He flashed her his trademark smirk.

"I guess I better fix that."

"I guess you should."

Juvia was blushing hard again, but she also felt a giddy rush to go with it. It was absurd and embarrassing, but her plan had worked and that was all that mattered. She took a deep breath and tried to remember how the stupid song started. Thankfully, this time the words came to her when bid.

"I love it when you just don't care. I love it when you dance like there's nobody there. So when it gets hard don't be afraid, we don't care what them people say."

She stopped singing and stepped forward again so she stood right in front of him. Her hand reached out and he took it.

Lyon stared up at her and smiled before picking up where she left off. "I love it when you don't take no, I love it when you do what you want cause you just said so. Let them all go home, stay out late. We don't care what them people say."

He tightened his grip on her hand and tugged lightly.

Juvia took the hint, locked her arm, leaned back and tugged him up right.

The force and their proximity had her stumbling backwards, but Lyon's arm was quick to circle her waist and steady her, pulling her back against him. He smiled down at her, resting his forehead against her own. Then he began to lead her in a soft sway, his melodic voice raising again for the chorus.

Despite the overwhelming embarrassment, Juvia joined him for the second half of the chorus, allowing him to sway her about as his voice grew stronger and he got more and more into the song. Before he could start up on the second verse Juvia pulled away from his embrace.

"Okay, okay, I love singing with you and all, but if we're going out you need to go get ready," she insisted, ushering him towards the stairs.

"Juvia, you can't just cut off a performance mid song like that," he protested. "The song must be sung to completion."

Juvia rolled her eyes and kept pushing him forward. "Yeah, yeah. You can keep singing as you get ready."

Lyon scoffed and pouted at her, but finally turned and started heading up the stairs. "I'll have you know this is abandonment. I'm going to end up with a complex because of this!"

"Uh huh, that's nice. You can blame me in your future autobiography, now go get ready."

"So demanding! Really!" He huffed and marched up the stairs, in a playful tantrum.

Juvia just shook her head, and made her way back into the living room muttering "so dramatic," under her breath. She could hear him start back up again, his voice easily carried down the stairs and through the house. She collapsed onto the loveseat with a sigh, letting her eyes drop and her head fall back. She did not want to look at the other two people in the room, especially Gray, who must think she had a few screws loose after that display.

"You really love him don't you?"

Juvia's eyes popped open, and her head snapped up to start incredulously at Ultear.

"I, uh-" How the hell was she supposed to respond to that? "We, uh, we haven't…."

Her heart hammered as she tried desperately to articulate her feelings on the matter.

If she thought serenading Lyon was embarrassing, being called out on her apparent feelings for him was mortifying. Doubly so because Ultear wasn't entirely off the mark. She cared very deeply for Lyon, it just wasn't really romantic in nature. She'd been very careful to keep it that way. And really, the comment shouldn't have bothered her. Her entire purpose in being here was to convince his family they were madly in love, she should just say yes.

And yet, she couldn't. She couldn't go that far. She swallowed thickly and decided to stick to vague answers. "We haven't really talked about that."

Ultear set her a knowing smile.

"Well I think it's pretty clear to anyone who looks at the two of you how you feel about one another," Ur said.

Juvia nearly jumped out of her skin. She placed a hand over her racing heart and glanced over at Ur in the doorway. She hadn't even heard her or Silver approach.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Silver chuckled. "We just heard Lyon singing and wanted to find out how you managed to perk him back up."

"Oh, you missed it, it was great!" Ultear cackled. "She serenaded him."

"Really now?" Silver shot her an amused grin.

Ur looked genuinely disappointed.

"You didn't miss anything other than me embarrassing myself, I promise. I'm a pretty bad singer."

"That's not true," Gray argued.

Juvia stared at him in shock. Heat flooded her cheeks all over again, but she sat just a bit straighter.

He liked her singing?

"Trust me, you're on key, which is more than I can say about the rest of this household. Lyon has freak genetics."

"Rude much?" Ultear replied with a glare. "You're the worst out of all of us."

"I know, that's why I don't sing," Gray countered.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," Juvia said.

"It is."

"Haha, it's pretty rough," Silver chuckled.

"Singing isn't his strong suit," Ur agreed.

"Your ears would bleed," Ultear replied with a smirk Juvia blinked in surprise.

She wanted to protest again, but thought better of it. This probably wasn't a case of false modesty. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it," she said.

"Good call," Gray replied with a wry smile.

There was a brief lull in the conversation, as Ur and Silver made their way into the room.

Ur took a seat next to her and Juvia struggled to find away to reignite the conversation. She wasn't overly fond of group silences and felt particularly awkward about this one. She was also hoping that if she came up with a topic she might avoid having to field another round of questions.

She found herself distracted by the muffled sound of Lyon singing his heart out. It made her smile as she glanced towards the stairs.

"You know he cares for you deeply right?" Ur said, her hand gently resting over top of Juvia's.

Juvia turned and offered here a smile and a nod. "I do."

"Good, because Lyon's never been the type to accept help from anyone. He tries to carry the whole world on his shoulders, so that others don't have to. I've been really worried about him being alone at college, but then he comes home with you, and I just…. I'm so grateful he's found you."

Juvia felt like her heart was being squeezed. She didn't deserve this kind of praise; not from Ur. Ever since she'd gotten here Juvia had wondered if she was really doing what was best for Lyon, or if she was just encouraging him to hide from the people who loved him. It was so hard in moments like this one to believe they would ever hurt him.

And yet experience had taught her that the ones that love you can easily hurt you the most, all the while telling themselves that they're doing what's best for you.

"Just promise me that you'll continue to be there for him when I can't?"

Juvia stared back at Ur. It was obvious she loved her son, and just wanted what was best for him. It was equally obvious that she had no idea the underlying implications of what she was asking Juvia to do. That she was basically telling Juvia to continue to help her son lie to her.

"Of course. I promise." Her words had never tasted so bitter.

* * *

Lyon's chuckling broke the silence of the night as he and Juvia fumbled their way into the back of the waiting cab. He was well past buzzed and bordering on drunk.

Juvia seemed to be faring a little better, having maintained her happy, affectionate phase of drinking throughout the night. Drunk Juvia was an emotional mess.

Lyon told the cabbie his address before returning his attention to his companion. He was really glad she'd dragged him out tonight. He'd had his reservations, but in the end she'd been right; he needed to just get out and distract himself.

And despite his earlier protests, he'd had a lot of fun parading her around all dolled up. And yes, normally he'd consider that feeling problematic; she was so much more than arm candy. But he couldn't deny the boost to his ego at having a room full of guys that would normally look down at him, envious over his dance partner.

In fact, he'd gotten so lost in the feeling of just letting go, he hadn't even realized how late it was until the bartender announced last call.

Juvia leaned into him, her head falling onto his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Hey dude, don't be gettin' too cuddly back there. This is a cab, not a hotel," the cabbie announced.

Lyon rolled his eyes, but he caught a sliver of a grin from the rearview mirror. He held up his hands. "Don't worry. Hands are above the waist and that's where they'll stay."

The cabbie chuckled. "You too lady."

"No promises," Juvia replied, snuggling just a little closer. "He's pretty comfy."

"If you say so. Kinda surprised to be picking you two up at a country bar, doesn't look like your type of place, ya know."

"It's not," they replied in unison, before breaking out into giggles.

Lyon was the first to recover. "We just like going out dancing, sometimes you have to make do with what's available."

"I hear ya on that one," the cabbie replied with a smile. "If that's the case, you two cool if I switch to the alternative station? Most people 'round here hate the genre, and I'm stuck listening to country or classic rock for the better part of my shift."

"Go for it, and turn it up!" Juvia cheered.

Lyon sighed and shrugged. "If it makes her happy I won't argue."

"Smart man," the cabbie said with a nod, "you know what they say, 'happy wife, happy life.'"

Lyon simply nodded in response as the cabbie switched the station and turned up the music. His fingers threaded through Juvia's hair, playing with it absentmindedly as he stared out the window.

It never ceased to amaze Lyon just how many people assumed he and Juvia were a couple. He knew most of it was just socializing and the ridiculous belief that men and women could never be just friends, but even people who knew the two of them often wondered about the nature of their relationship. People who knew he was gay, his own family; even Mered had concerns.

Lyon's face twisted into a scowl. He'd managed to banish the man from his mind for the last few hours, but a single errant thought brought all the pain and frustration of his afternoon right back to him.

Juvia nuzzled deeper into his neck. "You shouldn't dwell on it. There'll be others." Her voice was a soft murmur in his ear, and her hot breath tickled his neck.

"So they say," he replied.

He knew she was right, he'd never wanted to date someone from up here anyways. It had just been a long time since someone had caught his interest the way Mered did. It had felt good.

But, alas, some things just weren't meant to be. Lyon was beginning to wonder if, maybe, he wasn't cut out for dating. Maybe he just wasn't meant to be with someone at all.

"Mm, I love this song," Juvia murmured, her voice breaking Lyon's train of thought.

A constant strum of a guitar filled the cab, emanating from the radio, and Juvia instantly started humming along.

Lyon glanced down at the crown of blue hair resting beneath his chin.

The subtle beat of drums started up just as a male voice began to sing, slow and wispy.

"You'll be given love." Juvia's voice was soft, more of a whisper than a melody as she sang along with the song on the radio. "You'll be taken care of."

Lyon didn't recognize the song, but somehow the lyrics sounded familiar. The guitar was slow, and while the drumming was fast, it was soft and faded into the background. It was surprisingly soothing.

"You'll be given love. You have to trust it."

The man singing had a soft voice, and he was more talking than singing. But it was Juvia's voice, humming against his skin, that he was listening to.

"Maybe not from the sources you have poured yours."

Tears pricked Lyon's eyes, and his and gripped her shoulder just a little tighter.

"Maybe not from the directions, you are staring at."

His throat constricted, and he fought to keep his emotions in check.

"Twist your head around. It's all around you. All is full of love, all around you."

It wasn't lost on him just how fitting the lyrics were, or how badly he needed to hear those words. The fact that it was Juvia singing them, though, that's what hit home.

_All is full of love_

After all, she was the one that was always there for him. Always picking up the pieces, when no one else would.

_You just ain't receiving_

She was always stepping up to protect him, always doing something to make him smile. Hell, she'd serenaded him in front of his family just to get him out of the house.

_All is full of love_

She'd never once given up on him. Instead she stuck around and kept trying until something worked. Not even his mom tried that hard.

_Your phone is off the hook_

So what if Mered had walked away? It wasn't like they'd really started anything, so he hadn't lost anything either. He still had everyone else. He still had Juvia.

_All is full of love_

Yes, he still had Juvia and she didn't care if he was out or not. She didn't care if he wanted to keep secrets, didn't hesitate to lie on his behalf. There was no pressure to be anyone but who he was.

_Your doors are all shut_

Never had he been so acutely aware of just how much her unwavering support meant to him. Never had he been so grateful that she was there, in his life, by his side.

_All is full of love_

Never had he realized just how much he loved her.

_In any language_

It was an odd epiphany to have, sitting in the back of a cab listening to her sing along with the radio. It was something they'd done a million times before, but it was as if Lyon had been struck with lightning.

_All is full of love. All is full of love._

It had never occurred to him before now, but all at once he knew he loved her. He'd loved her for a long time.

_All is full of love_

And no, he wasn't in love with her; not the way everyone thought he was. But he could finally see why people might think so. He could see how his love and appreciation for Juvia might be interpreted as something more. How people could look at them and mistake them for a couple.

_All is full of love_

After all, she loved him too.

The realization came at him all at once, but he found he'd known that just as surely as his own feelings and for just as long. Perhaps even longer.

It was one of the few things in life he actually felt certain of and secure in.

_All is full of love_

She had always been there for him, she always would be. Tonight was just one moment in a long line of moments that proved exactly that.

If only she was more than a friend; life would be so much easier.

_"There is nothing going on between Juvia and I. We are just really, stupidly close friends."_

Lyon couldn't count the number of times he'd had to utter some variant of those words, he'd never thought he'd have to remind himself of it. It was just proof of how screwed up he was after this whole thing with Mered. Three days and one crappy date and he was ready to go back to dating his best friend.

Lyon sighed. He knew it was a stupid way to think. He'd been down that road before with Sherry and it ended with disastrous results. Mind you, Sherry wasn't aware he was gay. She'd also been madly in love with him.

Neither of those things applied to him and Juvia.

Lyon shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thoughts circling his mind.

"What are you thinking about?" Juvia asked, peering up at him.

"Crazy things," he replied. Only it didn't feel so crazy. Not with Juvia.

_"It's just- you have those silent eye conversations, and you relax instantly when she touches you, and she knows your weirdly specific coffee order. It's all very couple-y."_

Lyon slammed his eyes shut and let his head smack against the headrest. He didn't want to think about Mered, or dating, or how for one brief moment he actually thought he might want to share his life with someone.

Only he didn't want to go back to life the way it was before either. He didn't want a string of one night and one week stands that never went anywhere. He didn't want to keep waking up to an empty bed.

He was tired of being lonely.

Juvia's fingers brushed against his, squeezing and caressing, just like they always did when he was upset and in need of comfort. It was a habit of hers; one he'd come to count on and reciprocated so often he was certain it had become a habit of his as well.

He laced his fingers between hers and raised her hand to place a gentle kiss on the back of it. "Thank you for tonight."

Juvia raised her head from his shoulder, locking her gaze to his.

He smiled at the faint blush on her cheeks.

"You don't need to thank me Lyon, you know I'd do anything for you."

_Anything._

The word echoed in Lyon's head, dredging up the various possibilities such a word offered. He wished Mered had offered him anything. He hadn't even been willing to commit to a kiss.

Juvia would. If he asked her to kiss him at some point this week he just knew she would. Or at least he was pretty sure; they'd never really discussed that part of the whole fake dating thing, and she wasn't exactly a fan of pda, but if it needed to happen he trusted she'd do it.

"We're here," the cabbie announced as the cab rolled to a stop just in front of the driveway.

Here. Home. It was completely dark, save for the light left on outside the door.

Inside his entire family was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that he'd gone out with a boy that afternoon. The were oblivious to so much, and he envied them for it.

He let out a sigh and fished two twenties from his wallet and handed them to the cab driver, then waved off the change.

Juvia gave his hand another squeeze, and he offered her a tired smile in return.

At least he wasn't alone anymore. Not truly. Juvia would always be there to help keep his secrets safe.

* * *

Lyon bore most of Juvia's weight as they stumbled from the cab and up the driveway towards the front door. Her heels repeatedly slipped across the ice and he struggled to keep them both upright.

She snuggled into his warmth as he fished out his keys and worked to unlock the door. It took a little extra time for him to get the key in the lock and Juvia let out a breathy giggle before he managed to shove the door open.

He shushed her as he helped her inside, and took her coat from her to hang it along with his.

She let out a soft moan as her bare feet hit the floor, her heels discarded on the entrance mat. She flexed her feet and leaned back into the door.

Lyon closed the distance between them. To his pleasure Juvia didn't withdraw, instead she raised her gaze to meet his. Her fingers hooked on his belt loops drawing him closer.

_"You two are really close, huh?"_

Mered's voice echoed in his mind. Lyon's hands slid from Juvia's waist to her lower back, pulling her into a hug. Her hands slide up his shirt to his chest and he buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the floral scent of her shampoo.

_"It's all very couple-y."_

Lyon jerked upright. It wasn't like that; they were just friends.

"Lyon?" Juvia peered up at him, a small furrow indented on her brow.

Just really, weirdly, close friends who loved each other.

_"Call me when you've come out, or don't call me at all."_

The rejection hurt, but it hurt all the more knowing he could have avoided it. He could have just told Mered the truth at some point. It would have made sense; saved them both the trouble and wasted time. Only somewhere, deep down, he'd had a feeling it would go this way. Who would willingly lie about their life like that when they didn't have to?

"Lyon, are you okay?" Juvia's fingers brushed his cheek as she bent forward to catch his eyes. "Talk to me. What are you thinking?"

Juvia would.

"You know I love you right?" The confession fell from his lips, strained and desperate.

Juvia's mouth fell open. She stared at him, wide eyed with flushed cheeks. She swallowed hard, licked her lips, but no response came.

Not that he needed one.

_"You know I'd do anything for you."_

He didn't really process her face getting closer to his, or the fact that he'd closed his eyes, until their lips met.

Even then, he felt like he was a few steps behind where he should be. It was like a movie where the video and volume didn't quite sync. He felt her tense up, felt his lips move against hers, tasted cranberry and alcohol.

All at once Lyon realized he was kissing Juvia, and it was like someone had electrocuted him. He recoiled and his hands flew from her back to his sides. A thousand apologies lodged in his throat, but he couldn't actually get a single one out. Instead he stood there, waiting for the next harsh rejection to be flung at him.

Her hand fell from his cheek, then fisted the front of his shirt, pulling him towards her without warning.

His hand flew forward and his arm hit the door behind them catching his weight and holding him upright.

Juvia's lips connected with his in a searing kiss. Lyon's body reacted automatically, his free arm circled her waist and he kissed her back, even as his mind rushed to catch up. He'd been sure she was going to reject him; instead she was kissing him with fierce abandon.

Maybe it should have felt weird, but all Lyon could feel was relief.

Kissing Juvia was no different than kissing any of girls he worked with. It was an action he'd performed so often it was second nature, only now it came with the comfort of knowing she cared for him. It came with the warm feeling of acceptance, understanding, and affection that Juvia had always provided. It came with love, and love was something Lyon had been sorely lacking as of late.

A moan resonated from Juvia's lips as Lyon's fingers brushed against bare skin on the back of her thigh.

His fingers dug into the supple flesh, and he hiked her leg up around his hip. A groan slipped from his lips and she pressed against him. Her fingers threaded through his hair, tugging lightly as he deepens the kiss. When he finally broke the kiss they were both panting heavily and there was barely any space between them.

"Bedroom." Juvia's suggestion hung between them for a moment before Lyon nodded.

He pulled away from her reluctantly, taking her hand and tugged her up the stairs behind him. Their footfalls thumped on the wood as they scampered up the stairs, and he briefly wondered where this was headed.

A moment later they'd reached the top and he decided it just doesn't matter, so long as it distracted him from thinking about Mered.

Lyon shoved his door open and they stumbled into his bedroom. The door closed behind them with a loud thud, and he swung Juvia around and shoved her up against the closest wall. His hands found the back of her thighs again, gripping them and urging her up.

She complied immediately, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist. He gripped her ass, readjusted their position, and then leaned in to resume their kiss.

Or at least, he tried to.

It lasted for a brief moment before Juvia was slipping down again and both of them had to break away to pull and tug her back up.

Two more attempts and Lyon decided making out against a wall was not even remotely as hot as movies suggested.

"Gonna move us to the bed," he muttered, gripping her butt to support her weight, "hold on tight."

Juvia nodded and locked her arms around his neck.

Lyon shifted them away from the wall, and turned, shuffling across the floor to the bed. He placed a knee on the bed as he bent forward. One hand shifted to hold their weight as he lowered her carefully, climbing on once she was settled.

They locked eyes as he hovered above her. She was flushed, and her chest was heaving, but her hands remained on his neck, fiddling with the hair at his nape.

The urgency that had driven Lyon to this point was dying out, and logic had started to kick in. Just how far did he want this to go? He shut his eyes and bowed his head, letting it fall into the crook of Juvia's neck as he breathed in her perfume.

Pink hair and a devious smirk flashed in his mind.

He turned his head, and locked his lips on Juvia's neck sucking hard, eliciting a moan from her.

Mered moaning as he stuffed a bit of brownie into his mouth echoed her voice.

Lyon's hips dropped down, grinding against her. Her legs tightened around his waist and rolled back. Her fingers tugged at his hair and his hand wandered across her soft curves.

Too soft. Too curvy. He was going through the motions, but he struggled to keep his mind focused on what he was doing. Instead, his mind conjured images of Mered. Mered beneath him, Mered smirking up at him, Mered kissing him and moaning his name.

Only it wasn't Mered beneath him, it was Juvia. Juvia who loved, trusted and cared about him. He tried to focus on her, tried to pay attention to what he was doing, to her voice, to anything about her, but it wasn't the same. He could easily conjure feelings of love, and of gratitude, but his desire for her was lukewarm at best.

He tried to conjure the image of someone else, one of his more recent one night stands. Broad shoulders, hairy chest. He groaned, feeling the familiar stirring of heat building in his abdomen. He kept going, playing the night over in his mind.

All at once the chest beneath him was smooth, a soft stomach and a pink treasure trail. It was a hazy image conjured from fantasy, but had his blood heating up none the less.

_"Fuck! I wish you were here."_ _Mered gasped._

_Lyon swallowed hard at the husky tone. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Mered with him._

_"Ngh. Come home for break, please. I want you here so badly."_

Lyon jerked backwards, breaking the kiss. He should never have agreed to it. He should never have even considered it.

"Lyon?"

Lyon blinked; Juvia stared up at him in concern. Her hair was tousled, her dress twisted, the side of her neck was red, and her eyes were glossed over. Guilt washed over him in a giant wave.

"I'm sorry."

He felt himself tearing up. He tried to hold them back, to push the fresh wave of emotions back down where they had been, and his body trembled with the effort.

Juvia sat up, worry etched on her face.

"I'm sorry. I can't," he choked.

Hot tears streaked down his face, and he ducked his head away. She was probably frustrated enough without needing to deal with an emotional break down. He'd gone too far this time.

Arms circled around his neck, gently coaxing him forward. "It's okay."

He shuddered and forced down a sob as his forehead came to rest on her collarbone.

Juvia trailed her fingers across his back, in slow, soothing, circular motions. "It's okay."

This time he did sob, muffling it against her skin. The emotional dam finally broke, and he couldn't stop as he cried silently in her arms.

It wasn't okay, not even close, but somehow she was still there. Still holding him, still comforting when anyone else would give up. Even when she didn't know what was wrong.

It wasn't okay, but she was still there, and that was enough to make him believe it would be eventually.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me for that last scene please. I need to be alive to post the next chapter.


	12. Like Real People Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More late night Gruvia, cause we need some fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, chapter 12. Chapter 13 is written and being edited at this moment, and I'm currently writing this as my project for Nanowrimo. What that means is that Chapter 13 will be the last chapter update until November is done, but after that I'll be posting chapters on a biweekly basis. So yay regular updates!

Juvia stared up at the ceiling, heart thundering in her chest. What had she just done? 

She could still taste the mint liqueur on her tongue and feel the ghost touches where Lyon’s hands had explored. 

He’d kissed her. He’d kissed her, and she’d all but jumped him. Gods, what was she thinking? How selfish and messed up was she that she even let it get that far? He was drunk and heartbroken, and she’d taken advantage of that to satisfy her own stupid needs. 

She could feel tears pricking at her eyes, but blinked them back angrily. She had no right to cry here, not after she’d been so stupid. She turned her head to glance at Lyon, and could still see the tear streaks on his cheeks. He’d pretty much passed out on her shoulder while crying, and it had taken quite a bit of effort to lay him down so he could sleep comfortably. 

She remained seated beside him, legs folded to her chest, as her mind kept replaying what had happened. 

_ “You know I love you right?” _

She couldn’t get those words out of her head.

She repeatedly told herself she wasn't the same kid she’d been when Matthew and Carol adopted her. She wasn't desperate for affection and approval. She didn't want another family. 

She'd been lying to herself though. 

She told herself the gifts and the attempts to fit in we're all for Lyon's sake, but she jumped at every chance to weave herself deeper into his family. 

And then he'd gone and said those six words and she'd thrown her dignity and self respect right out the window, hoping to hear it again. She'd kiss him and gotten swept up in a torrent of repressed emotions and unsatisfied needs. Needs Lyon seemed ready to meet. 

It was probably the most selfish thing she'd ever done. And she'd done it to her best friend. 

Another oppressive wave of guilt hit her, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to get away from him, away from the bed and the haunting reminder that she may just have ruined the one meaningful friendship she’d made since high school. 

She stumbled from the bed to the door, her feet catching on some discarded piece of clothing. 

She paused in the hall, straightening her dress that had been twisted about uncomfortably, then, slowly latched the door close. It was pitch black and quiet, and she sent a silent thank you to the universe that Lyon’s family were heavy sleepers. They hadn’t exactly been quiet coming in, and the last thing she needed was an audience to her crime. 

Slowly she slipped forward, wincing at the creaks and moans the floorboards made beneath her weight. In the deafening silence of the night they sounded unreasonably loud. She glanced warily at Gray’s door as she passed, and held her breath. Even as she descended the stairs she continued to glance back at it with every odd sound the house made. 

Her feet hit the bottom floor and she finally released the breath she’d been holding. 

The sight of their shoes discarded on the front entrance mat had her gut clenching again. Another reminder of her recent indiscretion to prod at her conscience. She tiptoed forward and grabbed both pairs of shoes from the carpet where they'd been abandoned and moved them to the closet.

She glanced back at the door. 

_ ‘You know I love you right?’ _

Her eyes stung and her chest tightened. She turned and slipped into the family room beside her. There was just enough light for her to see by despite her blurred vision, and she quickly padded past the couch towards the downstairs bathroom.

She was immediately met with her reflection in the mirror upon entering. A streak of mascara had already tracked down her cheek and she swore she was paler than normal. 

She quickly averted her eyes, and turned on the cold water. Her hands cupped together and she lowered her head until she could splash it on her face. 

Once. Twice. 

_ “You know I love you right?”  _

She couldn't shake those words, nor the ache she felt over having not returned them. It was something that shook Juvia to her core, because neither of them were the type to say those words lightly. He must have meant it, and she couldn't imagine the pain at having them not reciprocated. She should have said it back, it wasn't like she didn't love him. He was her best friend and one of the few people in this world she truly cared for. 

Instead, she'd kissed him and thrown herself at him like some drunk party girl and she couldn't figure out why. 

Why was it so hard for her to say those words, or even to admit she felt them? It was obvious enough that Ultear could see it, and yet even then she'd balked. 

She was sure it had been years since she'd said it, and when she wracked her mind to remember the last time she'd heard someone tell her that she came up blank.

All at once Matthew’s parting words came to mind. 

_ “ Juvia, you know I don't want to send you back, but I can't raise you on my own. My work doesn't leave me enough time to care for you. It wouldn't be fair to you. I just want you to know, I do love you; more than I ever thought I would. You were the best part of all of this.” _

Hot tears streaked down her cheeks as the familiar feeling of rejection came rolling back in a heavy wave of emotion. Juvia ducked her head back towards the sink, and her hands reached out to cup the icy cold water and use it to wash away the sorrow and tears. 

She’d learned, all those years ago, that love just wasn’t enough. It couldn’t change reality. She didn’t need the reminder. 

Slowly, the tears stopped falling, leaving her heaving for air over the sink, as water dripped from her face. With a sigh she stood, glancing at herself in the mirror. Mascara was smeared around her eyes, and the rest of her makeup was patchy having been partially rinsed off. The front of her hair was soaked and dripping. 

She quickly pulled open the medicine cabinet and was grateful to see that Ultear kept makeup remover there. She grabbed a couple tissues and began the monotonous task of removing the rest of her makeup. She was slow and methodical in her movements, focusing too much on the task at hand, unwilling to allow her mind to wander. When the last traces of makeup were gone she rinsed her face once more, this time with lukewarm water, and then patted her face and hair dry with the hand towel. 

She took a deep breath and exited the bathroom, making a left into the pantry, and then a quick right into the kitchen. She was starting to feel tired, the alcohol making her slow and her emotional upheaval draining her further. She was focused on the floor, watching her steps, until a soft click drew her attention.

Juvia all but jumped out of her skin at the sight of the man standing by the kettle illuminated in nothing but moonlight. 

“Jesus Gray!” she hissed. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Gray had jumped as well, turning to face her. His bare chest heaved, and his eyes roved over her figure, taking in her rumpled appearance. He said nothing.

Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her dress and his gaze locked on to the motion. He seemed completely out of it as he wet his lips with a dart of his tongue.

“What are you doing down here in the dark?” she asked, trying to catch his attention once again.

Gray shook his head. “Sorry. I just heard you going downstairs after everything and figured I should check on you. You okay?” 

After everything? As in, he heard her and Lyon? Heat spread across her cheeks and she silently prayed for the earth to swallow her whole. “Oh my God! I am so, so sorry. You should not have heard that. I swear I would never-”

“Juvia, it’s fine,” Gray declared. “It’s not like I actually had to hear you two having sex.”

Juvia cringed and wrapped her arms about her. Gray’s eyes locked on her with an intensity that sent heat coursing through her body all over again. This wasn’t a conversation she was prepared to have, and him being topless was just sending her mind running in the wrong direction. 

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I honestly can’t believe he’d leave you hanging like that.” 

Juvia frowned. Why on earth was he insisting on having this conversation? What else had he heard? It was embarrassing enough that he’d heard them, she didn’t think they really needed to talk about it. “It’s fine, he just had too much to drink.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Gray scoffed. 

Juvia felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. 

“How many times has he used that excuse?”

“Excuse me?” Juvia’s gaze shot up and she fixed him with a glare. Her nails bit into her palm as she clenched her fist, and she focused on the pain, desperately trying to prevent herself from closing the distance between them to punch him. 

Gray glowered back, his breaths lengthened and loud. Finally he let out a long drawn out sigh, while leaning back against the counter and carding his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. I’m just saying Lyon and I have always had our rooms next to each other and that wall isn’t exactly soundproof. It was something he and Sherry had issues with too, and it had nothing to do with alcohol.” 

“So? I really don’t see what any of this has to do with you Gray.” 

“It doesn’t. That’s not the point-” Gray growled. Both hands reached up this time and his fingers tangled themselves in his unruly black locks. His head dropped forward and yet another frustrated sigh fell from his lips. “I’m just saying, you’re always looking after him, and going out of your way to make him happy. If he’s dating you he should be taking care of your needs too. You deserve better than this.” 

Juvia’s lip curled into a snarl as white hot rage boiled up inside of her. Just who the hell did he think he was? She couldn’t believe that he felt like he had any ground to stand on. “Oh really, and what exactly is better Gray? A guy like you, who’s gonna whisper sweet things in my ear as he has his way with me, and then says ‘thanks for the memories, there’s the door,’ once he’s done?” 

Gray flinched at her words, and opened his mouth to retort, but she wasn’t done. Storming across the kitchen she stopped within inches of him, cornering him before he had a chance to move. 

“Or is better the guy that can’t get enough of me on the weekends, when I visit? The one who swears he's head over heels for me and won’t leave my side; only for me to find out he’s saying it to half a dozen other women when I surprise him one day.” Hot tears pricked her eyes, and she bit them back as she stared deep into his, demanding an answer. “Is that the better that I deserve Gray?”

He simply stared down at her, his mouth left hanging open from his earlier attempt to respond. 

They stood there, face to face, heaving breaths the only sound between them. 

Finally, he shook his head. His eyes closed, and his body pressed forward as he relaxed, causing their chests to brush against each other. He leaned forward resting his forehead on hers, before opening his eyes to stare deeply back into hers.

“No, you deserve better than that too.”

Juvia pulled back then, putting several steps between them, suddenly all too aware of how close they were and the intimate feeling it evoked. 

“Given my options, I think I’ll take the sexual frustration. At least I know Lyon loves me, and he’s not just gonna toss me aside for a nicer rack,” she mumbled. 

Gray sighed, carding his fingers through his hair. “No. Not not for a nicer rack.” He looked like he was about to say more on the matter, but shook his head. He locked eyes with her, clearly searching for something. 

Whatever it was he didn’t find it. His shoulders sagged in defeat, and shook his head once more, heaving a sigh. Without saying a word he padded over to the fridge and reached up, opening the cupboards above them. 

Several bottles of all shapes and sizes filled them, and she didn’t need to see the labels to know they were all some form of liquor. 

Gray grabbed a tall bottle and pulled it down, along with two shot glasses. The liquid was amber in colour, which never boded well in Juvia’s opinion.

“I think we could both use a shot,” Gray announced, while unscrewing the cap.

Juvia eyed the glass warily as he poured. She’d already made one really stupid decision tonight, and desperately wanted to avoid making more. “I think I’ve had more than enough.”

Gray set the bottle back down, and set one of the shot glasses in front of her and picked up the other. “I think you could use one more. Besides, I thought this was how you liked to deal with unwanted exes cropping back up.”

“Huh?”

“You took Lyon out to the bar to drink, and dance, and distract him from Sherry right?”

Juvia nodded. 

“And I’m pretty sure you were just making reference to your own ex, so bottoms up,” he declared, lifting his shot glass towards her.

She knew it was a terrible idea, but Bora was on the back of her mind and she desperately wanted to forget him. She picked up the shot glass and clinked it against Gray’s before downing it. 

The alcohol burned, and left a bitter taste in her mouth. Ugh tequila was not her preference, and normally she preferred it with salt and a lime handy to chase it.

“Need another?”

Juvia shook her head. “Definitely not.”

She turned and padded across the floor towards the kettle. She wanted to get that taste out of her mouth, and fast.

“To be honest, I usually prefer dancing as a distraction over alcohol,” she admitted, reaching out to grab the tin containing tea. A mug already sat beside the kettle and she flushed, realizing that Gray had probably been in the process of making a tea for her when she’d walked into the kitchen.

“Well you should have said so sooner.”

There were a few shuffling noises behind her, then the soft sound of a guitar being strummed filled the silence. 

She recognized it immediately.

She felt Gray come up behind her, stopping with less than an inch of space between them. His hands came to rest on her hips. 

“Let’s dance then,” he whispered in her ear.

_ I had a thought, dear _

_ However scary _

_ About that night _

_ The bugs and the dirt _

"Lyon wouldn’t approve." 

Gray shrugged. "Lyon never approves of anything I do, and I've survived. You've spent all night thinking about him and what he wants, maybe you should think about what you want for a change." 

_ Why were you digging? _

_ What did you bury _

_ Before those hands pulled me _

_ From the earth? _

 

_ I will not ask you where you came from _

_ I will not ask and neither should you _

She twisted her head around to look at him, a dozen protests at the ready, but then their eyes met and all of them died in her throat. His gaze was intense, and it was like he was staring into her soul. 

_ Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips _

_ We should just kiss like real people do _

Her gaze flicked down to his lips, then back up to his eyes a second later. She knew this was a bad idea. A terrible idea. The song choice alone screamed a warning, but she didn’t want to listen. It was just a dance. Just one dance, and then she’d leave. 

_ I knew that look dear _

_ Eyes always seeking _

_ Was there in someone _

_ That dug long ago _

She closed her eyes then and leaning back into him. Her head turned to rest on his shoulder, and she reached up with her left hand and threaded her fingers into his hair. Her other hand moved to rest over the one sitting on her hip, and she began to sway with him in time to the music. 

_ So I will not ask you _

_ Why you were creeping _

_ In some sad way I already know _

Gray’s free hand slipped forward across her stomach, holding her tight to him, and his head dipped to rest beside hers. His lips were so close to her skin that his hot breath kept fanning across the back of her neck and ear. 

_ So I will not ask you where you came from _

_ I would not ask and neither would you _

The close proximity had her pulse racing all over again, but there was also a sweetness to the moment. It was nice being held so close. Despite all of Lyon’s insistence that Gray was the kind of guy who was just looking to add another notch to his bedpost, he’d yet to make a move on her. 

Instead he was all apologies, and small gestures of kindness and affection. Never mind that they spent every night talking for hours on end. 

_ Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips _

_ We should just kiss like real people do _

She hummed along to the music, and tried to stop overthinking things. She was pretty sure he didn’t see her that way, even if he had been flirting a bit earlier that day. As far as he knew she was Lyon’s girlfriend, and was just trying to be amiable because of that. 

Gray nuzzled against her neck, and she sighed in response as her head fell to the side. 

It was nice to be held like this. She tried so hard to keep it all together, and stay strong, but sometimes it was overwhelming. Sometimes she really just wanted to be looked after. 

And Gray seemed to want to look after her. 

_ I could not ask you where you came from _

_ I could not ask and neither could you _

Gray nuzzled her neck again, and this time his lips brushed against the nape of her neck. 

_ Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips _

_ We could just kiss like real people do  _

Juvia gasped, and her eyes popped open. Her heart thundered in her chest and she fought against her rising anxiety. 

Maybe it had been an accident?

The guitar continued to strum. They continued to sway. For a brief second Juvia held onto the hope that Gray hadn't intended the kiss.

Then his lips were pressed against her neck again; firmer, more certain. 

Juvia panicked. 

Her friendship with Lyon was already hanging by a thread and letting this continue would be the fastest way to ruin it forever. 

Juvia wrenched herself from Gray’s hold and his warm lips. Tears were already gathering in the corners of her eyes as she whirled around to face him. 

“What are you doing?”

Gray blinked slowly, a puzzled frown marring his brow. He blinked again before his eyes widened. “Shit! Juvia, shit! I'm sor-

“What are you thinking? I’m your brother’s girlfriend,” she hissed. 

Gray’s face fell and guilt mapped itself across his features. He opened his mouth and closed it again. He inched towards her, arm reaching out slowly to touch her. 

Juvia backed away towards the hall, putting several feet between them. 

“Juvia wait… I can explain.”

She shook her head. More tears gathered in her eyes and her own guilt doubled. For the second time that night she’d let herself get caught up in her own selfish desires and hurt someone because of it. For the second time that night she’d let her guard down and allowed herself to be hurt. 

Before Gray could say anything else she spun on her heel and fled the kitchen. Her feet carried her down the hall and she took the stairs two at a time, not slowing until she reached Lyon’s door. 

She slipped inside and pulled the door closed behind her. The clack resounded in the darkness and Lyon stirred on the bed. He didn't wake, though.

Juvia leaned back against the door, and slowly slid to the floor. Her heart hammered and tears streaked down her face. She buried her head in her hands and tried to quiet her sobs so that she could listen for Gray’s footsteps on the stairs. 

They never came. The house remained eerily silent in the wake of her rushed escape, and she didn't know what to make of it. She knew she should have been grateful that Gray hadn't pursued her, but it left her feeling hollow and unworthy. 

Juvia pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her head between her arms to muffle her sobs. Her body shook, and she held herself tighter. No matter how much she wanted someone else to pick up the pieces, she knew in the end the only one that would keep holding her was herself. 

In the end, she knew it was only a matter of time before she was alone again. 


	13. The Thing We Do For Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of heart-to-hearts. Some go better than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So NaNoWriMo is back, an that's kicked my writing drive back into gear. So let me talk about what that means for IKYSS. It means that for the next 18 days I'll be trying to write as much as possible in order to get the remaining 30K words I need to win. Chapter 14 is almost done. I'm hoping to get at least 3 more chapters written by the end of the month. My idea would be to hit Chapter 20 though, which may not be possible if I keep writing 10k chapters.
> 
> That being said don't expect any updates until a few weeks after November is done. I'll need to edit like crazy, and my beta is also doing NaNo, so we're both gonna be burnt out. What it does mean is that from then on I'll go back to bi-weekly updates. So yay for getting back into a schedule. That being said week 2 has been tough, my brother's one year death anniversary is on Monday, and I'm struggling to push myself so any and all kudos and comments will be used as my main motivation!

Lyon's head pounded as he cracked an eye open. He winced as he cracked an eye open, blinded by the sunlight that filtered through his curtains. He groaned and turned, only to stop part way as his back hit something solid. Slowly he lifted his head, ignoring the steady throb, and glanced over his shoulder.

Blue hair spilled out over the top of the blankets which had been wrapped tightly around Juvia's sleeping form. He blinked, feeling a bit disoriented, and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 12:21 shone back at him. He frowned and glanced back down at Juvia.

She almost never slept in. Even after an unreasonably late night she was usually up by 8:00 a.m. She must have been exhausted if she was still sleeping at this hour, which was understandable, considering everything he'd put her through the day before.

Guilt bubbled its way back up to the surface of Lyon's thoughts. He'd been beyond selfish yesterday. He'd dragged her out, then called her back to pick up the pieces, and ended up heaping all of his problems and lies in her lap to deal with and run interference on. And she had; she'd done it all without question, and then went above and beyond, serenading him, taking him out, helping him forget…. And he used her. He took everything she'd offered and then demanded more.

Lyon sighed. He ran a hand up and over his face, then through his hair, before glancing back down at Juvia's sleeping form.

She looked peaceful.

He sat up fully, and tucked away a stray strand of hair that had fallen just below her nose and was fluttering with her breathing. If nothing else, she deserved a proper night's sleep.

He inched himself towards the edge of the bed, and eased himself off of it. He wobbled as he stood, a moment of dizziness washing over him, before the ache in his head returned full force. He needed an Advil.

Checking to make sure she was still sleeping soundly, Lyon crept towards the door.

Once he was out in the hall he listened for any indication that his family were home or awake. The house was completely silent, and he remembered that his Mom and Dad had to go to the gallery and that Ultear was already at work. His gaze was immediately drawn to Gray's door, and felt an overwhelming sense of relief when he saw it had been left open, which was pretty much a guaranteed sign that Gray wasn't in it. They had the house to themselves, and he was grateful. A little bit of privacy would make talking a whole lot easier.

He padded across the hall and slipped into the bathroom, turning on the tap to let the water run cold while he fished the Advil out of the medicine cabinet. The rattle of the pills grated on his nerves, and he gulped down a few extra cups of water in an attempt to alleviate the scratchy feeling in his throat.

It had been a while since he'd woken up feeling this rough. Normally he and Juvia observed a pretty strict end-of-night recovery ritual so that they wouldn't have to suffer the full effects of their hangovers; something they obviously skipped last night. Never mind the emotional hangover of multiple breakdowns. It wasn't the best start to the day by a long shot, and the only upside was that he could actually talk to Juvia and sort out the mess he'd made of their friendship last night.

He sighed, and downed another cup of water. It was time to go and start the waiting game. He wanted to be there when Juvia woke up. He just hoped it would be soon. The sooner they talked the sooner he could find out where they stood and how he could fix it.

* * *

He'd left the door open and as he approached he caught sight of Juvia. She was sitting up in the bed, her hair was a tangled blue mess and she was staring at his side of the bed, which was empty save for the crumpled sheets.

As he approached she looked up, there were bags under her eyes, and a forlorn expression on her face. He could tell she was close to tears.

"Lyon," she murmured.

Guilt rolled in his gut. He took a shaky step towards her, apologies lodged in his throat.

Her lower lip trembled, and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Juvia?" He reached the foot of the bed in two long strides and clambered up onto it so he was kneeling at her feet. Panic frayed his thoughts. He knew she'd be upset with him, but he didn't think it would be this bad. His hand reached out and cupped her cheek, as he awkwardly perched above her. "Shit! I'm sorry, please don't cry."

She starting sobbing in response, and shook her head frantically.

Lyon's stomach dropped. He was, without a doubt, the worst person in the world. All he did was upset the people that bothered to care about him, and now he'd upset the one person who'd always put up with him. He was going to los-

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm a terrible friend," she blubbered.

Lyon blinked, his previous train of thought coming to a screeching halt, and he struggled to get his mind to restart and catch up. "What?"

"I took advantage of you! You were upset, and vulnerable, and you kissed me and I just…. I practically jumped you! What kind of friend does that?" She stared up at him, red faced with tear streaked cheeks.

Lyon let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and his entire body slumped forward as the tension raced from him. His forehead rested on hers and he caressed her cheek with his thumb, locking eyes with her. "Shh. You didn't take advantage me."

"Yes I d-"

"I kissed you, Juvia, just like you said."

Juvia shook her head, and more tears spilled down her cheeks. "You pulled away. You pulled away and I pulled you back. I suggested we go upstairs, I- I-"

"Shh. Stop, just stop." Lyon sighed, and wound his arms around her, pulling her into his lap so he could cradle her shaking form. Concern for her overwhelmed all of his previous emotions. "I don't care, okay? As far as I'm concerned, I took advantage of you too. We were drunk-"

"I wasn't drunk," she sobbed. "You were upset, and vulnerable, and I should have known better."

Lyon frowned, frustration starting to form due to her stubbornness. "You were vulnerable too. Bora broke your heart, and you've been in an emotional and physical dry spell ever since. And maybe you weren't drunk, but you weren't sober either."

"You're gay." Lyon stiffened instinctively, even though the words were barely above a whisper. His heart hammered as he paused to listen for sounds outside the door. Of course, there were none.

He exhaled, and a few wisps of her hair tickled his chin. "So?"

"So, you're not attracted to me. I should have known you were just upset."

He didn't really know how to respond to that. It wasn't like she was wrong, but mistakes happen, and he played a large part in last night. Sure he felt relieved that she wasn't upset with him but that didn't mean he was just going to let her shoulder all the blame.

He let out a long sigh and held her tighter. "Maybe you should have known better. Maybe I just really wished I wasn't gay. That I loved you differently. Everything would be so much easier if I could just date you instead. And for a moment I just- I thought maybe it could work if I willed it."

"Not so lucky huh?" She nuzzled against his shoulder and her arms slipped down and around his waist.

"All I could think of was Mered."

Juvia stared up at him. "I'm sorry. You really liked him huh?"

Lyon nodded. His throat was tight and yesterday's emotional turmoil returned with a vengeance.

"You could call him."

"He was pretty clear about what he wanted, and it wasn't me…. Not closeted me at least."

Juvia's fingers traced circles through the back of his rumpled shirt. "You know I'd support you if you wanted to tell them."

Lyon smiled at that. "I know. You'd probably support me if I decided to convert to Scientology too."

"Mm, I don't know. I think that might be where I draw the line," she teased.

"Good to know there's a line somewhere. Sometimes I feel like I'm taking advantage of y-"

"You're not!" Juvia withdrew from his embrace, and clasped their hands together between them. She locked eyes with him, shooting him a stern look. "You didn't take advantage of me last night. I kissed you too. But you told me you loved me, and I didn't even respond."

She broke eye contact then, and tried to withdraw her hands.

Lyon held tight to them. "You didn't have to, you're here with me, right?"

She nodded.

"You've always been with me. And yesterday… yesterday you were amazing," he said, trying to catch her eye as she tried to hide her face. He didn't miss the way she blushed. "I mean, you're always amazing, I just don't think it hit me just how lucky I am to have you until last night. So you don't have to say anything. I know you love me."

She peered up at him then. "I do."

He flashed her a grin. "Of course you do, I'm very lovable."

She rolled her eyes, but shifted her way back into his lap to hug him again. "I'm still sorry about last night."

"Me too. I'm okay though, I make out with girls for a living, so it's not a big deal to me. I'm just worried that I crossed a line, or made you feel rejected…."

"I'm okay."

"You sure? 'Cause if you're not we can talk about it."

"Just feeling guilty, and a little ashamed about how desperate I came across, but I'll get over it."

"So you're not madly in love with me and heartbroken?"

"Actually I'm devastated, I don't know how I'm gonna live now that we've confirmed you are one hundred percent gay and I have no shot with you."

Lyon let out a loud gasp. "I knew it! I knew I was just too irresistible, and now you've gone and fallen for me. What ever shall we do?"

Juvia gave him a light shove as her laughter rang out through the room. "Shut up."

He laughed along with her, and his fingers poked at her sides, eliciting more laughter. "Stop laughing, this is serious, you love me!"

She shrieked and tried to push him away and fend off his hands but Lyon refused to let up in his assault. Having her shriek in his ears was a small price to pay for the sound of her laughter. Knowing they were gonna be okay, and that he hadn't lost her warmed him.

"Admit it," he demanded.

"I do. You're right. Please stop."

He grinned down at her and slowed his tickling.

Her giggles started to subside, and she smiled up at him with tears in eyes.

He smiled back, knowing they were happy ones. "Say it? Please?"

She blushed and nodded, taking a moment to catch her breath.

His heart fluttered in his chest as he waited. It was stupid really. He didn't need to hear it, because he already knew. He'd told her as much. But, after everything, he wanted the words. He wanted to hear her say it, to know that at least one person who knew all of him loved him, even if others didn't.

She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I do love you; for you. And maybe I'm not in love with you, but some day you're gonna find someone who is, but in the meantime, you're loved. You always will be."

The weight of her words washed over him, and tears pricked his eyes. He tried to tell himself she'd said it all last night, that he knew all of it even if she hadn't, but his emotions got the better of him.

As the tears started rolling down his cheeks he pulled her into another tight embrace and whispered 'thank you's' as she consoled him yet again.

* * *

"What do you mean you have to work late?" Lyon said. He frowned and paced about the kitchen. His phone was held to his ear.

Juvia sighed and tried to focus on cooking lunch in an effort to ignore her mounting anxiety.

Lyon's agitation and distress wasn't helping. He'd stalked into the kitchen almost fifteen minutes ago ranting into the phone, at Ultear she assumed, about bailing on plans for the night. He'd been wearing a hole in the floor ever since.

Of course, them having plans for the day had been news to her. She'd honestly been looking forward to spending the day cuddling on the couch watching movies. After all that had happened yesterday and last night, she'd thought Lyon would feel the same way; he usually did when hung over.

Instead he seemed dead set on, not only going out, but driving all the way to Magnolia for the Festival of Lights, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"So, tell Jellal you'll do it tomorrow," Lyon said. There was a brief pause. "I'm sure it can wait one day. C'mon, it's tradition."

Juvia glanced up at him again as she scraped the tomatoes off the cutting board and into the pan. She ought to feel a bit more sympathetic, but she found herself hoping Ultear held out instead.

"Yeah, I know. But that's different, they've got a show going on." He paused in his pacing, face falling into a frown. "I get that I've been gone, but-"

Lyon clenched his jaw, and his free hand formed a fist. "All the more reason we should go!" He huffed through his nose, and his hand tightened about his phone. He looked up and his eyes met hers.

Juvia looked away, guilt swirling in her stomach. She set the cutting board and knife down, before grabbing a wooden spoon and focusing on mixing the tomatoes around with the meat. She knew she ought to just say something herself, tell him that she wasn't really up to going out, but they'd already had a rough night and she really just wanted to keep things upbeat between them. Especially since she wasn't sure what Gray was going to do.

He'd been gone when they'd come down, so she'd yet to have to face him, but he was bound to come back eventually. She was pretty sure it was going to be incredibly awkward from there on out. There was also the matter of him potentially bringing things up in front of Lyon, thus sparking a whole bunch of questions she really didn't want to answer. Not that it was likely. She'd been trying to tell herself it really wasn't Gray's style, and that the last person he'd want to know about the whole thing was Lyon, but her mind could never quite let the thread of worry go.

"Fine, I get it," Lyon sighed, leaning his back against the counter, "No, I do, I just really wanted to actually get to spend some time with you…. Yeah, I know…. I will, as if I'd miss it…. Okay, well as if I'd miss it when I'm not miles away, in another city."

Juvia felt her whole body run cold.

Lyon was smiling half-heartedly, and playing with the hem of his shirt. "Hey you're at least taking Saturday off right?"

His laughter filled the kitchen, and Juvia felt a little sick. His smile brightened. "Just checking, just checking. Don't work to hard 'kay?"

"Yeah, love you too Tear."

Lyon let his phone fall from his ear and let out a loud sigh, wrapping his arms around him. His smile was still there, but it had faded as the call ended.

Juvia bit her lip, not sure how to broach the silence. A part of her wanted to keep the smile in place, to cheer him up as she always did. She wanted to tell him it was gonna be okay, that they'd have fun together. But most of her wished she could just curl up in a ball of blankets and that he'd let her. She knew what was coming.

"So 'Tear can't join us," Lyon said, his head fell back against the cupboard with a dull thud. "I mean, I guess I should have known she'd be busy, she's been working late all week, but I would have thought that she would have remembered to take today off or something."

He shoved off the pantry and meandered over to her side, his arms wrapping around her as she continued to focus on stirring the food in front of her.

It really didn't need the attention, but she knew Lyon wouldn't know any better.

"Apparently family traditions stopped being traditions when I went off to college," he mumbled, nuzzling into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she offered, unsure of what else to say. She let the silence between them linger and tried to absorb some courage from the feel of him hugging her close. She really had no reason to be scared, it wasn't a big deal, saying no. She'd moved past this stupid need to please people, or at least, that's what she kept telling herself. No matter how much she repeated it though, she couldn't work up the courage to just come out and say it.

"So what exactly is this tradition you're supposed to be doing?" Juvia cursed herself, that wasn't saying no.

"It's Magnolia's Festival Of Lights. It's a celebration of the longest night of the year; back when it was my mom, Dad, Tear and I, we'd wander around and look at all the houses lit up with Christmas lights. Even after my dad passed we'd still go every year. Magnolia's is one of the biggest in Fiore; people come from all over to see it. Mom never let us skip a year, even when 'Tear was sick, she'd insist we go, even if it was just for a little bit."

Juvia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to fight back tears and memories all at once. Of course Ur would bring her kids to the festival.

"And it's not just all lights and wandering around. There's hot chocolate and apple cider, plus amazing food! They've usually got this one baking stall with all sorts of-"

"Lyon," Juvia cautioned with a frown, she could tell what he was trying to do.

"Look, I know it's not really your thing, and you're not a fan of Christmas and caroling and all that. And yeah, okay there will be music on the main street but the side streets shouldn't be too bad, and it's really pretty. Super pretty. Please think about it?"

Juvia bit her lip, and let out a loud exhale. She knew she should just say no now. It was faster and easier on everyone.

"Please Juvia?"

"Aren't you tired though? After yesterday, and all that happened?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'll survive; nothing a few extra cups of coffee can't cure," he said with a chuckle.

"I don't know Lyon, I'm just a bit worn out. I was thinking it might just be nice to stay in tonight. Curl up on the couch, watch a movie."

"But you slept past noon."

Juvia looked back at him over her shoulder. "We were out pretty late."

Lyon frowned, and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah I'm just tired."

She wanted to kick herself a second later, because what was that? He'd given her the perfect out and she'd just passed it up without a second thought.

"Well th-" Lyon was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and then closing.

Lyon was quick to release her, and strode towards the front foyer and his next target.

Juvia's heart seized. She had a pretty good guess who it was, given the majority of the family were all tied up with work. She hesitated, not wanting to abandon lunch on the stove and definitely not wanting to face him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lyon's question carried all the way into the kitchen.

Juvia flicked off the burner and put a lid over the food. She'd just made it to the hall when she heard Gray's response.

"I was over at Erza's." There was a pause then, "Look, I know what you're gonna say, and I sw-"

"Oh come on, not you too!" Lyon cried, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Gray looked stricken. His hands were held up in an attempt to placate, and he couldn't seem to look Lyon in the eye. His eyes briefly flickered up to her as she approached them and she could feel the guilt radiating off him. He dropped her gaze and bowed his head. "Look, I'm sorry-"

"Save it."

Gray flinched.

"I knew Mom and Dad weren't gonna make it, but I can't believe you and Ultear are bailing on me. This is bullshit." Lyon said.

Gray looked up at Lyon for the first time and frowned. "Wait, what? What're you talking about?"

"The Festival of Lights, what else would I be talking about?" Lyon said

Gray visibly relaxed, and he shrugged, hands slipping into his pockets. "I dunno."

Lyon frowned. "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing," Gray replied, a little too quickly. His shoulders tensed. "Figured you were pissed about me telling Mom and Dad you were upset or something."

Lyon looked over him, and considered his words. Finally he scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm not."

"Good," Gray said. He turned and opened the closet, finally hanging up his jacket.

Juvia felt a wave of relief wash over her. It had been a close call, but Lyon was still blissfully unaware of their rendezvous, and Gray seemed just as inclined to keep it that way. She turned around thinking that she ought to retreat back to the kitchen and solitude. Maybe Lyon would forget about the stupid festival.

"So, are you going to the festival or not?" Lyon said.

Juvia let out a sigh. So much for forgetting. She paused part way down the hall, waiting for Gray's answer.

"Of course," Gray replied. "I always go, it's tradition."

"Thank you! That's what I've been saying, but Ultear's all 'I have to work late, and my jobs more important'," Lyon said, using a higher pitched whiny voice to mock Ultear.

Gray burst into laughter.

"Like, it's one night, it wouldn't kill her to take a break." He continued.

Gray snorted, but his expression sobered a little. "Yeah, well, they both missed you that first year, and last year I think they just both dove into work instead of going."

"Oh." Lyon averted his gaze, his own smile dying instantly. "Well, I'm here now."

"Yeah, but I mean, none of us were sure you were actually gonna show up. You've had a habit of bailing at the last minute." Gray shifted his weight and scratched the back of his head, not quite looking at Lyon either.

Lyon grimaced.

Juvia let out a quiet sigh, guilt stirring in her stomach. Her feet felt like lead but she forced herself back into the foyer stopping right beside Lyon. Her fingers brushed against his and he instinctively opened them, allowing her to intertwine hers and give his hand a squeeze.

He glanced over at her and let out a long sigh before offering her a smile. He looked back up at Gray. "Well I'm here now, and I'm not skipping out on another year. If you want, you can catch a ride with us."

Gray's head snapped up and his mouth fell open. "Uh yeah, sure. That'd be great."

Juvia felt her insides go cold, and she frowned up at Lyon. "I still haven't agreed to go, I told you I'm not really feeling up to it."

"Oh c'mon. I know you're tired, but it'll be a lot of fun. We only have to go for a few hours, we'll head out a little after four, that way we're not driving there in the dark, wander around, look at the lights, hit up Cardia and head home. You can even pass out in the back seat on the way home," Lyon insisted.

Juvia crossed her arms under her chest, and let out a sigh. "Or you can go with Gray and stay as long as you want, and I can enjoy a quiet evening in. Sounds like a win-win to me."

Lyon pouted. "Did I not mention, it would be fun?"

"I fail to see what part of wandering around in the cold and listening to heavily religious, holiday music while you two bicker is fun."

"We won't bicker," Lyon said.

"Even if we do, I'm meeting my friends there, so there will be plenty of buffers for you. Hell, even Gajeel's going," Gray added, glancing her way but still not quite able to make eye contact.

The mention of Gajeel being there steeled Juvia's resolve. She'd promised him she'd stay put and relax. Looking back on it she almost felt like Gajeel knew what was coming, and she briefly wondered if maybe she should have listened, or at least told Lyon a bit about why they had the traditions they did.

"Look Lyon-"

"Juvia please, this means a lot to me." Lyon stepped forward and took her hands in his. "I know it's not your thing, and I know I've already asked you for like a million and one favours, but this is my family's tradition and I haven't had a chance to do it in two years and it looks like I won't get to enjoy it with most of them this year either. So it would mean a lot to me if you'd be there in their stead. Please?"

Juvia bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to block out the hopeful look he was giving her. She hated how much he meant to her, and the fact that he had her considering doing something she'd avoided for years.

"Please. Only a couple hours, and I'll feed you, and buy you whatever you want, then tomorrow it's all about you. We can watch horror movies for hours, and eat takeout, and anything else you want," he pleaded.

She was certain Gajeel was going to be pissed, and part of her was pissed too. She was weak. She knew better. But another part of her whispered that it was only a few hours, and that if she was really over everything, like she kept insisting, then she could handle it. It whispered that it was worth it if it made him happy.

"Okay, fine. But only a few hours, okay? We both need a good night sleep," she conceded.

When she opened her eyes she was met with Lyon's goofy grin and warmth spread through her, easing the anxious race of her heart.

"I love you," he whispered, arm wrapping about her waist and pulling her into a soft hug.

Juvia blushed. "I love you too."

From over Lyon's shoulder Juvia spotted Gray's frown as he watched them. Her stomach twisted, and she averted her gaze, choosing instead to nuzzle into Lyon's neck.

She told herself the look didn't mean anything. That it didn't matter, and even if it did, she had significantly bigger issues to worry about. Like how she was going to get through the next few hours, and how mad Gajeel was going to be when he realized just how much she'd lied to him about.

* * *

The ball of anxiety had been growing steadily in the pit of Juvia's stomach since she'd agreed to go out. As they drove through the streets of Magnolia searching for parking she found herself struggling to breathe. She wrung her gloved hands together, as she stared out the window attempting to spot a free parking spot amidst the packed parking lots, and car lined side streets.

At one point she'd spotted Gajeel's jeep, but the lot had been full, and they'd had to move on. In fact, all of the parking lots around the festival had been full, despite Lyon having said it was still early. Apparently, the festival had grown significantly larger in the two years since he'd been gone. Or at least, that's what he said.

Gray might have mumbled something about it always being this busy, but Lyon either hadn't heard him, or chose to ignore him. She couldn't be sure.

"There's one on the left, just past the blue Elantra," Gray announced.

"Yeah, I see it," Lyon said.

Juvia had to give them credit, they'd been true to their word and hadn't fought once. In fact, Lyon seemed eager to spend time with Gray for once. She knew it was because Gray was the only one willing to come out tonight, but it was nice to see Lyon trying for once. There was a lot of hurt there, but if Gray was serious about making amends then tonight might be a really good turning point in their relationship.

Lyon cut the engine, and Juvia swung open the car door and stepped out into the cold. Snow crunched under her boots and the distant sound of Christmas music carried over the the clamour of the crowd and could still be heard even though they were several streets away from the festival. She shivered as the wind picked up, biting at her legs through the layers she wore.

"You okay?" Lyon asked. "It's colder here, what with the lake and the river."

"I'll be fine, you'll just have to buy me more tea," Juvia said, rubbing her gloved hands together for warmth.

"Well let us know if you're not," Gray said, looking up from his phone to meet her gaze, "I brought a light blanket, figured you might need it."

Juvia blushed, a small smile creeping onto her lips. It was sweet of him to think of her like that.

Lyon rolled his eyes, and sent Gray a playful glare. "Are you trying to steal my girl from me?"

Gray tensed, head whipping around to stare, wide-eyed, at Lyon.

Lyon cackled at the sight, doubling over in laughter. "Oh my god, you should see your face! Dude, chill, you couldn't steal her from me if you tried. Certainly not with a blanket, not when tea is an option."

Gray slumped forward and let out a breathy snort. "You're an ass."

Juvia shook her head and made her way around the car to Lyon's side, poking him in the side. "You said something about tea?"

Lyon smirked and shot Gray a smug look, then draped an arm around her shoulder, rubbing it to offer her some warmth. "Yeah, let's go get you your tea. I have a feeling it'll be the first of many." He turned and headed towards the main street, steering her with him.

As they started to make their way into the crowd, he looked back over his shoulder. "So where are we meeting the others?"

"Mm, Main and 3rd Line. There's some jewelry stand the girls are goin' crazy over, they'll probably be there for a bit. Long enough for us to stop for drinks." Gray replied. He'd managed to push through the crowd and was now walking beside Juvia, occasionally brushing against her arm as people passed.

It should have felt weird, walking between them like that, given all that had happened the night before. And yet, she couldn't help but feel happy for them. It was easy to push aside the anxiety that fluttered about in her chest when looking up at them. It felt right, like a piece they'd both been missing for so long had finally been put back into place. And it kinda felt that way for her too. She'd felt it from the first night she'd met Lyon, and now his family was slowly worming their way into her heart, and it didn't scare her nearly as much as it should.

* * *

He spotted them from a distance. It was hard not to, Gajeel was a good head above most of the crowd, and Natsu's pink hair was hard to miss. Natsu in general was hard to miss, always had been. His boisterous nature tended to stand out, and he had a knack for getting into trouble. As it was, his girlfriend was yelling at him for something.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked.

Lyon frowned. Of course he was.

He glanced over at Gray, only to find he was staring down at Juvia, and Lyon's gaze shifted to her as well.

She'd fallen back just a bit, and almost seemed to be hiding behind him. Her hand was fidgeting with the hem of her jacket, as she mumbled "I'm fine."

Clearly she wasn't. The question was why?

"If you're really uncomfortable having to deal with the two of us, we can split up. I'll go with Natsu and Lucy and you guys can go around with Gajeel and Levy," Gray said, obviously not buying her half-hearted reassurance.

Lyon couldn't blame him. Juvia wasn't hard to read, she wore her heart on her sleeve most of the time, it was easy to tell what she was feeling.

"No!" Juvia shook her head frantically. "No you two are fine, honestly…. It's been kinda nice actually." She flashed them both a smile.

Lyon smiled back, though Gray maintained his sceptical look.

Juvia's eyes flickered over towards Gajeel and the others, and Lyon watched as her smile faltered ever so slightly.

The problem with Juvia wasn't figuring out what she was feeling, it was figuring out the source behind those emotions. The logic Juvia seemed to live by was elusive at the best of times, but after a year of friendship Lyon was slowly starting to get a handle on some of it, well enough to make educated guesses at least.

"Are you sure?" Gray pressed.

"It's nothing-"

"Feeling a little shy and self conscious after the last time you met them?" Lyon interjected. He kept his eyes on her, looking for a visual confirmation, rather than a verbal one.

Juvia blushed and Lyon was pretty sure he'd hit the mark. She liked to pretend like she didn't care about what others thought of her, but deep down it mattered. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and let his hand rest on the small of her back. "I'm sure it's fine, Lucy and Levy were more concern than anything, and the only thing Natsu's gonna remember is that you fed him. C'mon, the sooner you greet them, the sooner you can put your mind at ease."

"R-right," Juvia replied. She took a deep breath and let him guide her towards them.

Gray quickly caught up with them, but he continued to stare down at Juvia intently.

Lyon shot him a quick glare. She didn't need yet another reason to feel self conscious.

He felt a light tug on the sleeve of his coat, and he smirked. He glanced down at Juvia as he removed his arm from around her waist and offered it to her, with a small, flourished bow.

She let out a quiet snort, but smiled and wrapped her arms around his, leaning into him as they walked.

It didn't take long for him to realize she'd once again hidden herself from view. He shook his head, and tried not to laugh. It was rare that she was the insecure one, but he knew she was often uncomfortable meeting new people. And while they weren't brand new, she still hadn't gotten much of a chance to get to know Gray's friends. If he was honest, it was nice to get to play protector for once.

Gray gave a halfhearted wave as they approached, catching the attention of his friends. The girls waved back enthusiastically and Natsu returned the gesture.

Gajeel nodded at Gray, but the second his eyes landed on Lyon he scowled.

It was unsettling and Lyon frowned back, unsure what he'd done to piss the man off. All he could think of was that Gajeel was still pissed about his fight with Juvia, but that seemed a bit far fetched. Then again, it never seemed to take much to put Gajeel in a mood.

"Hey guys!" Lucy called out as she bounded over to them, still waving. "Ahh, Juvia, Lyon! Glad you guys could make it!"

"Juvia?" Levy's brow furrowed, but as her eyes fell on them she sent a small wave in their direction.

"Yo, ice dick, about time you got here," Natsu said, clapping Gray on the back and ignoring the glare he got from Gray. "Sup guys?"

"Not much, not much. Sorry if we kept you waiting," Lyon said.

"You didn't, he's just bored. We've been wandering the stalls shopping," Lucy said.

"For over an hour, it's been torture," Natsu whined.

She shot him a glare. "I haven't heard Gajeel complaining."

"That's cause Gajeel's whipped," Natsu said.

"Shut it," Gajeel grumbled, shoving Natsu with his shoulder. He then turned and glared in Lyon's direction. "What are you doing here?"

Lyon opened his mouth to respond.

"I'm here to see the lights, and enjoy the festival, what else would I be here for?" Juvia replied.

Lyon blinked, and took another look at Gajeel and noticed that his eyes were actually focused just to the left, directly at Juvia. He frowned and glanced over at her, and found her smiling.

Everyone else was looking back and forth between the two of them, all clearly confused by Gajeel's question, except for Levy, who seemed to be trying to get his attention, or sooth him. She was gripping his forearm in her hands and leaning into him.

"Worried I'm gonna embarrass you?" Juvia teased, flashing Gajeel a smile.

Lyon frowned. He had no idea why she was behaving like this. Normally she'd give Gajeel a hard time about his attitude, and would harass him until he caved. This time she was just ignoring it, acting like he was being perfectly polite, instead of glaring daggers at her.

He had no idea what was going on between them, and while that was often the case, it was even more confusing than usual. As far as he could tell Gajeel had no reason to be mad at her, and she had every reason to be mad at him, considering he'd bailed the last time they saw each other without even saying goodbye.

"What's your problem?" Lyon snapped, and Juvia tightened her grip around him.

Gajeel's steely gaze fixed on him, and he lets out a huff. His glare switched back to Juvia and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Seriously?"

Juvia shifted, and leaned in closer to Lyon, almost as though she was trying to hide herself again. She was the first to break eye contact, and lowered her gaze to the snow covered road.

The whole thing felt off, and Lyon knew he'd missed something. Juvia could be quiet and shy at times, but she was never docile.

There's a pregnant pause and everyone else is glancing at each other trying to figure out exactly what's going on with the two of them.

Juvia offered Gajeel a shrug as a response and he let out a growl.

"Gajeel?" Levy reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Some of the tension seemed to leave at her touch, but it didn't reach his eyes, which remained locked on Juvia, angry and demanding.

He let out a long breath. "We need to talk Juv's."

Juvia nodded, still avoiding eye contact with him. She glanced up at Lyon. "You don't mind right? It'll only take a few minutes."

He wanted to protest. He didn't like the way they were behaving towards each other, and she seemed genuinely uncomfortable around him. It almost felt like she was scared, the way she was clinging to him. He wondered if their fight had anything to do with him, then realized that was a good probability, and that protesting might lead to a whole other set of issues. He let out a breath and caught her eye. For all that her body language screamed warnings, her gaze was steady, and determined.

He knew he shouldn't be worried; she could more than take care of herself. But he couldn't help wanting to know what the issue was. Finally he sighed. "Yeah, it's fine. I'll go line up and grab us some food. Any requests?"

Juvia shook her head, then turned, and followed behind Gajeel as he drove a path through the crowd.

Lyon watched them go until they were out of sight, then turned back to the others.

"Let's eat!" Natsu cheered, and raced off towards the food vendors before anyone could respond. Lucy was quick to follow, but Levy, Gray and Lyon lingered, staring in the direction Juvia and Gajeel had headed.

Finally Lyon sighed. "C'mon let's go grab food, the last thing anyone wants is a hungry Juvia."

* * *

Gajeel clutched her arm and dragged her along through the crowd. She knew it was more to ensure she followed, rather than any concern about losing her. He didn't stop until they were well off the main road, then spun on her, using his height to tower over her.

Frustration radiated from him and all the anxiety Juvia had suppressed came rushing right back to the forefront of her mind.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" His voice was cold, and the glare he'd fixed her with made her shiver.

She bit her lip and stared at the ground, shuffling the tip of her boot through the snow. They both knew the answer to his question, and the shame of having been caught in a lie was oppressive.

Gajeel snarled, digging his fingers into his thick black hair, pulling roughly. "And now you're here. This is a fucking disaster waiting to happen."

Juvia frowned, suddenly feeling defensive. "It'll be fine. I told him I'm tired and don't want to be here. It's only for a few hours, then we're heading right back home. It's a family tradition, I didn't want to deny him that."

"His tradition, not yours. You don't gotta to be here, and clearly it doesn't mean that much to his family since they're not here either."

Juvia glared at him, anger sparking. She crossed her arms under her chest. "They had to work, and he was really upset about it. They've had this tradition since his father was alive; it's important."

"Jesus," Gajeel hissed. "See, this is why ya shoulda told him back before you two left college and came out here. Then he couldn't just go laying guilt trips like that and forcing you to do somethin' you shouldn't have to do."

"It wasn't a guilt trip!"

Gajeel glared at her. "Like hell it wasn't. Just cause he doesn't know about your parents doesn't mean he didn't work you over. He manipulated you, and you let him, and now you're defending him!"

"He didn't. It was my choice, I decided to come," she declared pointing a finger at herself. She let out a huff of breath, and started pacing in front of him. "It's been thirteen years since they died. I went through therapy, I'm over it."

"Bullshit."

"Fuck you! Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because I know how this shit ends. We've done this song and dance before, and it always ends with me picking up the goddamn pieces."

"No one asked you to!"

Gajeel was silent. He stared down at her, and she watched as the white hot anger melted into cold steely indifference. His lip curled up in a snarl. "You're right, no one asked. 'Cause you never ask, not me, not anyone. But I've been there anyways. But if that's the way you wanna play it, then fuck it. You're on your own. Just know, when this blows up in your face I ain't gonna be there to make it all better."

His words hit her hard, knocking the breath out of her. Tears clouded her vision and she spun on her heel before he could see them, and stormed back towards the festival.

It hurt and it scared her. Gajeel had been by her side for the last five years and, despite all his attitude, he was right. He'd always been there when she needed him. Even though she never asked. Even though she constantly tried to brush him off, telling him she was fine, he stuck by her. He was the only person who had, and she'd always been afraid he'd eventually decide it was too much trouble.

Well now he had.

She wanted to break down, she wanted to turn around and beg him to forgive her. But if she did he'd insist on taking her home, on her telling Lyon; and Lyon really didn't need that. He deserved a night of happiness, and he and Gray needed this chance to mend their relationship. And just because she avoided thoughts of her own parents, didn't mean she couldn't understand him wanting to honour a tradition he'd shared with his father.

She took a shaky breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. She could do this. She'd prove Gajeel wrong, and then she'd talk to him. She'd apologize for lying, and make it right. She just needed to get through the night.

* * *

Lyon scanned the crowd, trying to spot Gajeel, knowing he'd be the easier of the two to pick up. He was still in line for food, but they'd left a while ago and his agitation increased with each passing minute they were gone.

"Maybe she's pregnant and he's upset 'cause he's worried walking around in the cold will harm the baby," Natsu said.

Lyon choked on his macchiato, and continued to sputter and cough as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh my god, Natsu! You can't just say things like that!" Lucy cried, while frantically trying to help Lyon by smacking his back.

"Are you okay? Do you need water?" Levy asked, worry etched on her brow.

Natsu clapped him on the back and Lyon gave a final, loud cough before wheezing, "I'm fine."

He bent over and rested his hands on his knees and focused on slowing his breathing back down. Lucy held out a water bottle for him, but Lyon shook his head and waved her away. With a deep breath in he stood up, and then let the breath out. "I'm okay, really."

"Sorry man, my bad. Didn't mean to freak you out." Natsu offered Lyon a sheepish grin, then continued, "It's just, I mean, what else could it be?"

Lyon frowned.

"Literally anything else," Gray said, sending Natsu an unimpressed look.

"Yeah, pretty sure I'd know if she was," Lyon said.

Natsu shrugged. "Accidents happen."

"Yeah, but why would she tell Gajeel, before she told Lyon? That makes zero sense," Lucy countered.

"I dunno, they were in the kitchen for a while, I just thought maybe she had something to tell him," Natsu explained.

As Natsu and Lucy continued to bicker back and forth about Juvia's supposed pregnancy, Lyon glanced at Levy. She'd been really quiet throughout most of the exchange, and like him had been regularly scanning the crowds.

He shifted a bit closer to her, and her eyes flickered up to catch his.

"You look worried," Lyon said, moving to stand beside her, and going back to scanning the crowd himself.

Levy nodded. "I am."

Lyon quirked an eyebrow and glanced back down at her. "You know what's up?"

She bit her lip, her eyes flickering from his to the crowd and back again. Finally she sighed. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'm guessing he's kind of… annoyed at Juvia. He made her promise she'd stay home today, get some rest. You know? Because of everything. He's worried she's over extending herself."

Lyon nodded and felt the heat creep up onto his cheeks. He hadn't realized she'd talked to Gajeel today, or that she'd told the man about what had happened yesterday. But if she had, it made sense why she'd be reluctant to come. He frowned. He really could have used a heads up if that was the case. She should've at least let him know he was basically walking into the lion's den. If Gajeel hadn't liked him before, he was pretty sure the man would hate him now.

He let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "Right, well, I promised her we'd only be out for a few hours. It's just, it's kinda a family tradition to come down and see the lights, and I haven't really gotten to do it in a few years. But I told her tomorrow it's all about her, whatever she wants."

Levy nodded, but her gaze lingered on him a bit longer than before, and he got the distinct impression she wanted to say something.

He was about to ask what was on her mind when he spotted Juvia weaving through the crowd, searching for their group.

She had a scowl on, and looked incredibly distressed. She caught sight of him and relief seemed to wash over her. She picked up her pace, weaving through the crowd with a little more force.

He spotted Gajeel behind her, and he looked even more aggravated than usual, and didn't seem to be in nearly as much of a rush as he tried to shoved through the crowded street, making no move to maneuver around anyone. Instead, people were forced to part and go around him, shooting him glares once they were behind him.

Juvia practically launched herself at Lyon once she was close, wrapping her arms tight around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

"Hey. Missed you too. Everything okay?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her back and resting his chin atop her head.

She nodded, then held him tighter.

He wanted to say something, but he figured she might not appreciate him drawing more attention to her than already had been.

Gray was already staring at the two of them and when their eyes met he mouthed 'is she okay?'.

Lyon thought about telling him to mind his own business, but things had been good between them so far, and it seemed a little pointless. Gajeel was clearly pissed and Juvia wasn't exactly looking thrilled. Instead, he offered Gray a slow shrug, and an uncertain look. Maybe he'd be able to ask Gray to hold his place and slip away with Juvia to get some info.

Gajeel finally managed to stomp his way back to the group, and as soon as his eyes locked with Lyon's he stared Lyon down.

Lyon did his best to meet his glare straight on, but it was hard not to fold. Juvia may have been okay with the events of last night, but it was clear Gajeel wasn't. Top that with him being the reason Juvia was out tonight, instead of home curled up on the couch where she wanted to be, and Lyon was pretty sure he was public enemy number one.

"Yo," Natsu greeted, oblivious to Gajeel's black mood.

Gajeel grunted in response, stopping once he made it to Levy's side.

Levy gazed up at him, concern written on her face, only to have Gajeel avert his eyes.

Apparently neither of them were gonna talk about what had just gone down, and Lyon couldn't decide if that was a blessing or not. Though he suspected he and Gajeel would be having an unpleasant conversation at some point tonight, it would at least hold out until they weren't under direct scrutiny of the rest of the group.

"What'd you two need to talk about?" Natsu asked, as he studied both of them, "You both look pissed off, you two have some sort of fight?"

Gajeel glowered at him. "Mind your own business."

Juvia sighed and pulled herself back from Lyon's embrace just enough to look at Natsu. "It's nothing, just clarifying some expected behaviour. Apparently I'm not allowed to ruin his rep anymore than I already have."

Lyon let out a breath, and he could see everyone else relaxing as well. He knew that probably wasn't the whole truth, but the whole 'expected behaviour' bit clearly had a double meaning. Either way, at least everyone else would back off, and hopefully go back to focusing on other things.

"You sure you're okay?" Gray asked, eyes locked on Juvia.

She blushed, and seemed caught off guard by his scrutiny, but then she leaned back into Lyon, resting her head on his chest. "I'm all good, just hungry," she said, flashing Gray a smile that seemed forced, before looking up at Lyon. "You're buying me whatever I want right?"

Lyon nodded, eyes searching hers for some sign that she wasn't really okay. He just couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was off about her.

"Even dessert?" She smiled again, and even though his gut was telling him something was wrong, he knew he needed to let it go and just trust her. If there was really a bigger issue at play, she'd tell him.

Lyon smiled down at her, and dipped his head to brush the tip of his nose against hers in an eskimo kiss. "Anything your heart desires."


	14. Candle In The Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juvia's past comes back to haunt her, and Lyon is forced to deal with the consequences of being too pushy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay, I’m back! Nanowrimo was a success and you’ll all be happy to know that I’ve finished up to chapter 18, so there’s at least 2 more months of constant updates. :) Thank for all the reviews and love. Hope you’re all ready for a bit of a heavier chapter.
> 
> I’ll be aiming to have updates done between Friday and Saturday bi-weekly. :)

It really wasn’t that bad.

Sure the start of the evening had been rough, and Gajeel hadn’t acknowledged her once since they’d returned to the group; but once she’d gotten something to eat and they’d started wandering Juvia had found herself relaxing.

They’d shopped along the main road and, while Gajeel had been determined to freeze her out, everyone else had been eager to engage her; even Levy. Though, Juvia suspected she knew a lot more about the situation than she was letting on.

They’d been wandering around for close to two hours now and Juvia had to concede that the whole thing was starting to grow on her, especially now that they’d branched off from the festival to wander the side streets and take in the lights.

“Ooo! Look at that one! It’s so pretty!” Lucy squealed, pointing at the house just ahead of them. “I’ve changed my mind, this one is definitely my favourite so far.”

Gray groaned and shook his head, while Natsu burst out laughing and holding a hand out towards him. “Pay up man.”

“Seriously Lucy? You couldn’t wait one more minute?” Gray complained.

Lucy offered him a sheepish grin. “Sorry Gray, but it’s pink! Not many people go with pink lights and I have to say, I like it.”

“I swear she’s cheating for you,” Gray grumbled, while fishing out a five dollar bill to give to Natsu.

“You’re the idiot who keeps placing bets with her boyfriend, anything he wins is half hers by default,” Lyon pointed out. “Kinda stacked odds.”

“I wish!” Lucy scoffed. “Juvia any chance you’re willing to trade?”

Juvia giggled, and pretended to consider it. “Hmm, I don’t know… I kinda like being spoiled, and I’m not really seeing many perks where Natsu’s concerned.”

“That’s ‘cause the best ones are kept in the bedroom,” Natsu said, and winked at Juvia, then gave Lucy a confused look. “And what do you need with half of five dollars? You’re rich.”

“So? It’s the principle of it. We’re supposed to share things. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine,” Lucy declared with a nod.

“You weren’t saying that when I stole a few bites of your dinner,” Natsu mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

“A few bites? Try half of it! I need to eat too you know,” Lucy said.

Natsu was about to reply when Gray elbowed him in the ribs, but it didn’t stop Lucy from guessing what he was about to say.

“Oh my God, you think I’m fat!

Juvia and Lyon shared a look, and rolled their eyes in amusement as the couple started to bicker in earnest.

Juvia slipped closer to Lyon again, threading her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder. “Thanks for dragging me out tonight. I’m actually enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.”

Lyon stared down at her in surprise before flashing her a blinding smile. “Oh? Has your heart grown three sizes this day?”

Juvia shot him an unimpressed look. “I’m not a Grinch.”

Lyon nodded patronizingly. “Uh huh, of course you aren’t. It’s kind of a good thing really, if you were you’d have the strength of ten of you plus two, and I’m pretty sure you’d kick my ass into oblivion.”

“I really don’t need any extra strength to kick your ass,” she said.

“No, probably not.”

Juvia sighed and snuck a glance back over her shoulder to where Gajeel and Levy were walking. They’d fallen behind a few minutes ago and had been whispering to each other ever since. It was sweet, seeing him practically bent over to whisper in her ear.

As if sensing her gaze Gajeel straightened and looked up in her direction.

Juvia quickly turned her head back, not wanting to provoke a fight, and also not wanting to be the first to show signs of cracking.

Lyon’s thumb rubbed circles on the back of her hand through her gloves, and she offered him a small smile in return. He’d been really good about it all. Just letting her cling to him, and not really pushing too many questions.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said, then flashed her a mischievous smirk, “who knows, maybe by the end of the night I can warm you up to a couple of carolling duets.”

Juvia immediately released his arm, giving him a light shove in the shoulder. “Don’t push your luck, the lights are pretty, the music is still just….” She scrunched up her face trying to think of a way to describe it that went beyond just festive.

“Haha, still not quite in the festive spirit?” Gray asked, sliding up to the other side of her.

“Hey, she’s wearing down. I got her to admit the lights are pretty, and she said she was enjoying herself so ,you know, give her a couple more days with the family and I might just get my wish,” Lyon boasted.

Juvia shook her head, with a smile playing on her lips. “It would take a Christmas miracle.”

“Well tis the season for those,” Gray teased. “But I’m glad you’re having fun, even though it’s not your thing and Gajeel’s being a dick.”

Juvia wanted to protest, and her standard defenses rested on her tongue. She held back though. From their perspective, Gray wasn’t being mean, and defending Gajeel’s attitude properly would mean explaining a lot.

“I gotta say it’s nice having you two around. Gives me someone to talk to while those four are being all couple-y.” He said and gestured to his friends.

“It’s nice to finally be back here,” Lyon confessed with a sigh, “I’ve missed this.”

Gray nodded, and Lyon looked about them with a clear yearning. It was obvious he was thinking about all the time he’d missed, and Juvia didn’t doubt the lingering need to return to school weighed on his mind.

To Juvia it was going home, to him it was leaving again. Even if he had more personal freedom there it wasn’t really where he wanted to be, and the realization hurt in more ways than one.

“We could make plans to come back up around March break. I mean, I know you mean the festival, but I’m sure there’s other stuff you miss,” Juvia offered.

“We could,” Lyon said.

“You should,” Gray said.

Lyon raised an eyebrow at him.

“What? It would mean a lot to Mom, and would make everyone else happy. They’ve missed you, and I’ve tried stepping up, being around more, and doing the whole comfort thing… and it’s not like they don’t appreciate it, but it’s really not the same.” Gray let out a sigh and stared up at the night sky. “Truth is, none of us realized just how much we relied on you ’til you weren’t there.”

Lyon stared at him incredulously while Gray had been talking, but turned away when Gray looked back at him. There was a glassy look to his eyes and his fists were clenched.

Gray balked. “Hey I didn’t mean it as a complaint.”

Lyon took a deep shuddering breath, and wiped his eyes. “I know, sorry. It’s fine, I just… Sometimes I feel like I’ve just let everyone down.”

Juvia was quick to place a hand on his shoulder. “You know it’s not like that. Stop beating yourself up over things, you’ve been busy and they know that.”

Lyon nodded and continued to wipe away the gathering tears. Gray looked away, scuffing his shoes against the pavement, trying to give him a moment.

“Sorry,” Lyon muttered.

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have-“

“No. I know what you meant. Sorry you’ve had to fill in for me,” Lyon said.

Gray shrugged. “It’s cool, no one asked me too, just kinda felt like I oughta. Gotta say, sometimes, I can’t even blame you for bailing. The women in our family are crazy.”

Juvia swatted him on the arm, causing him to flinch, and Lyon let out a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah they are.”

Gray chuckled along with him, as he rubbed his arm.

“You two are horrible. I should tell Ultear you said that, you wouldn’t be laughing then,” Juvia threatened.

Gray and Lyon froze in their laughter and shared equally horrified looks.

“You wouldn’t,” Gray said.

“Don’t even think about it Juvia.”

She eyed them both, and while she still felt indignant on Ur and Ultras behalf she had to admit it was nice to see the two of them getting along.

“That’s it! I’m not helping you any more!” Lucy screamed, storming away from Natsu and towards their group.

“You weren’t helping me in the first place,” Natsu called out after her, but followed at her heels. “Come on Luce, don’t be like that.”

“Does this mean you’re on my side now?” Gray asked flashing her a grin.

Lucy glared at him. “No.”

“You should just wait til we’re done looking then pick what you liked. ‘Stead of changing your mind every couple blocks,” Gajeel grumbled, coming up behind them.

Juvia glanced over and accidentally caught his gaze, and her heart pounded against her chest. Gajeel held it for a moment before turning to the others with a disinterested look. It hurt. Her chest clenched painfully and she had to force herself to look away.

“I should,” Lucy agreed dejectedly.

“Aww, but it’s more fun when you get all excited! You’re like a cute little puppy,” Natsu said.

“You’re just saying that so you can go back to betting about me with Gray.”

“I am not!”

Lucy raised a brow and shot him an unimpressed look.

“Not entirely,” Natsu amended, offering her a sheepish grin.

“Come on Lu,” Levy said, while weaving her arm through Lucy’s, “you can tell me about the houses you like.”

The two of them started off down the next street, talking away to each other.

Nastu groaned as he watched them go. “Now what do I do?”

“Don’t look at me. I already tried to save your dumb ass,” Gray quipped, patting natsu on the back.

The group of them slowly started trailing after Lucy and Levy.

“Just buy her somethin’ girly with the money you won,” Gajeel told him, rolling his eyes as though the answer was obvious.

Nastu let out an even louder groan. “She always likes the really expensive stuff though, and I’d probably buy the wrong thing.”

“Just get her another key charm,” Gray supplied. “She likes those.”

“But she’s already got like, a million. What if I get one she’s already got?”

Lyon rolled his eyes. “You’re all clueless. She’s not upset about the bets, she’s upset because you were about to call her fat. What you do is you buy her a long stem red rose, and when you present it to her and she says it’s beautiful, you tell her that it’s nothing but a pale shadow compared to her own beauty.”

Nastu came to a stop, and stared at Lyon with a stupefied look on his face.

The four of them slowed and waited for him, certain Natsu’s brain had just been broken.

Slowly he turned his head to look at Juvia before springing forward and throwing his arms around her.

She stumbled back a bit with the weight of him, and tried to shove him off but his arms were locked right around hers and prevented her from tossing him to the ground.

“Juvia you gotta help me fix it!” he wailed.

She stared down at him in alarm. “What? Why me?”

“Oi, get off of her,” Gray demanded, yanking Natsu back by the collar of his jacket.

Natsu released her as he stumbled back, and swatted Gray’s hand away. “Cause you’re a girl, you know about these things.”

Gajeel snorted and she scowled at him, before turning back to Natsu. “Honestly I’m just as clueless as you are. The whole passive aggressive thing doesn’t really appeal to me, I’d have just hit you and been done with it.”

She glanced further down the street to find Lucy and Levy stopped in front of one of the houses, chatting. They reminded her of the popular girls in school, arm in arm whispering and giggling. Juvia bit down on her lip. She’d never really been a part of that world, she was too aggressive, too loud, too blunt, no matter how hard she tried not to be. She’d always fit it more as one of the guys, but that didn’t mean she’d never wanted girlfriends.

“See, that I could deal with,” Natsu said. “This whole ignoring me until I jump through the right hoop; it’s evil. And half the time I end up doing a million things before doing the right one.”

Lucy glanced back and caught Juvia’s eye and smiled, waving for her to come join them.

“That’s probably why she does it,” Juvia called from over her shoulder. She turned back and started walking again. “Just say you’re sorry for being an ass…. Then tell her she’s pretty.”

She could hear Lyon gloating, and the other boys complaining as she approached Lucy and Levy.

“-an’t wait for the candle lighting tonight’” Levy said.

Lucy nodded.

_Her mom’s hands wrapped around Juvia tiny little ones as the clutched a simple white candle. They were surrounded thousands of lit candles. “Now take your candle dear, hold it tight and we’ll go light it using one of the others. And once it’s lit you make a wish.”_

“Candle lighting?” Juvia asked coming up beside them, trying to clear her head. She knew the basic ritual, it was practiced by churches all across Fiore but it had a million meanings depending on who you asked and where you were.

“Yeah, you know, you go light a candle for loved ones that have passed on the longest night of the year. Cardia Cathedral holds a huge mass and people come in and out all night. I do it every year for my mom.” Lucy explained, a sad smile resting on her lips.

Juvia’s gut twisted bitterly, and her chest tightened. It was suddenly abundantly clear why this tradition was such a big deal to Lyon, and she wished he hadn’t glossed over this little detail.

“Sorry about your mom,” she mumbled, avoiding Lucy’s gaze. She felt dizzy and short of breath.

A hand came to rest on the small of her back. She glanced up to find Lyon standing beside her a sorrowful expression on his face as he stared at Lucy.

“I guess that means we’re all lighting candles then?” he asked.

Levy shook her head. “I mean, I will, but it’s not for anyone in particular.”

“I ain’t,” Gajeel scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. His eyes flickered over to Juvia, and for the first time that night she wasn’t met with a glare.

“I’ll probably wait outside, too.” she said, avoiding the gazes of the others.

Lyon frowned. “You don’t want to light a candle for your parents?”

Juvia shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve never really seen the point to it, and I’m not a fan of churches.”

“Well there doesn’t have to be a point to it. It’s just nice to take a moment to recognize them, and Cardia Cathedral is gorgeous, especially when it’s all lit up with candles.”

Juvia shivered. The image of high arched ceilings with candles lining the walls came back to her mind. Warm hands holding hers, and loving smiles. Soft words she couldn’t really remember.

“I’m sure it’s nice, I just would rather not,” Juvia mumbled.

“But-“

“It’s fine,” Levy interjected. “She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to, everyone has different ways of dealing with things.”

“Or not dealing with them,” Gajeel muttered.

Juvia shot him a glare, but said nothing.

The group slowly started moving again, wandering the street.

“It really is beautiful,” Lucy murmured. “People come from all across Fiore to see it all lit up tonight.”

“Mhmm, I’m pretty sure it’s one of the most visited sites tonight,” Lyon said.

“It’s second or third most,” Levy explained. “Depends on the year. The first is always Zentopia cathedral, over in Crocus. But Cardia and Ladrifis always compete for second place.”

“See, totally worth checking out.” Lyon said.

“I think she gets the point Lyon,” Gray snapped, “Not everyone’s a fan of churches and architecture. I couldn’t care less about the cathedral, just there for my mom.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll drop it.” Lyon sighed as they reached the end of the street. Suddenly he perked up, and grinned like a little kid. “Hey! We’re here!”

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him, happy for the change of topic but very confused as to his excitement. “Here?”

“This is the street with my favourite house,” he explained, eagerly grabbing her hand and dragging her behind him. “Come on, it’s amazing and whimsical and perfect. You’re gonna love it!”

Juvia chuckled as she picked up her pace and trotted after him.

She looked about the street as they did, taking in the other homes. The first thing she noted was that each of them was huge, more like mansions than houses, and she supposed that was why Lyon didn’t think quite so much about his own home. She wondered just how many people actually lived in them, because she was sure there were more than enough rooms for each of the kids from the orphanage to have had their own room, with rooms to spare. And not only were they huge, but they were all decorated with elaborate displays, colour coordinated lights, and lit up scenes.

One had the manger scene, another had wicker reindeer scattered across the lawn frolicking together.

The house they came to a stop in front of was clearly one of the most elaborate. Red and Green lights covered it as well as the large evergreen that stood proud on the front lawn. Beneath the tree were several oversized presents, and the tree itself was covered with large traditional decorations. A moving train set large enough to seat small children weaved in and around the gifts and over the rest of the lawn, chugging away. It was the kind of scene kids around the world dreamed of waking up to on Christmas morning.

She stared in awe, and Lyon stood beside her bouncing on the balls of his feet as he took it all in.

“Isn’t it amazing?” He gushed, offering her a delighted smile.

Juvia nodded, because really, it was. All of them were. She looked up and down the street taking in each house, immaculately decorated with it’s own theme and she could understand Lyon’s awe and excitement. It amazed and delighted her, even as her mind questioned how much it cost to pull this off and considered that there were probably a million better uses for that kind of cash. Ones that might actually benefit others instead of just being for show.

It all felt a little over the top and wasteful until she spotted one house, and her breath caught.

Lyon was still caught up in staring at his favourite, pointing out some of the new features to Lucy, who was equally enamored, and Natsu, who was eyeing the train with displeasure.

Slowly she slipped away, walking towards the large home at the end of the street. It was one of the corner houses, and looked like an giant cottage, from the roof and window sills icicle lights hung, Blue lights spiraled around the trees and bright white snowflakes made of lights hung in the windows and from branches. It was a winter wonderland, and an orchestral version of the song could be heard.

The centerpiece of the lawn was a large sleigh, pulled by decorative horses with a cute couple cuddled together in the seat, and beautifully carved ice sculptures and well made snowmen were placed all around them. Snow was blown up from a corner scattering snowflakes to the wind, and Juvia fought the desire to step onto the grass and twirl about in the man made storm.

It looked just like a snow globe.

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought, as a feeling of deja vu struck her.

_“Mommy, mommy look! It’s a snow globe.” She jumped up and down then sprinted forward, ready to dive into the snow._

_Strong arms wrapped around her waist and hoisted her high into the air. She let out a shriek of laughter, as she was spun around, before being cradled close to her fathers chest._

_“Woah little raindrop, you can’t go up there. You’ll freeze like a popsicle.” His deep laughter rumbled through his chest and she shook with him._

“This one’s my favourite too.”

She jolted, and whipped around to find Gray standing right beside her.

He caught her eye briefly before turning to admire the house.

Her heart slowed its frantic pace, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. “It’s beautiful.”

He hummed an agreement. He was so close, and for the first time that day Juvia’s mind wandered back to the night before, and the way it felt to be held in his arms, and the feel of his lips on her neck. She shivered, the memory of the sensation sending a flush of desire through her.

Gray glanced at her, with a small frown. “You cold? I’ve got the blanket if you want it?”

He had his backpack half way off when Juvia placed a hand on his shoulder. He tensed under her touch and their eyes locked.

Her heart hammered in her chest and she whisked her head away. “It’s fine, just a cold breeze.”

“You sure?”

She nodded, and offered him a small smile.

He slipped the pack back on and they stood side by side in a comfortable silence, listening to the soft melody play and taking in the picturesque tableau.

“What were you thinking about?” he asked, glancing down at her.

“Hmm?”

“When I came up beside you, you were pretty deep in thought. What were you thinking about?”

Juvia inhaled sharply, and her body tensed. Slowly she forced the breath from her lungs, all too aware of his eyes on her. She kept her gaze forward, and focused on keeping her voice even. “Nothing.”

Her response was met with silence, and she could still feel him staring at her. She glanced his way from the corner of her eye, and he locked eyes with her. His stare was intense and she could practically see his mind working, fighting some internal debate. It was clear he didn’t believe her.

Finally he let out a sigh, and carded a hand through his hair before stuffing it into his pocket. His gaze lingered for a moment more before turning towards the others, who’d finally made it to the end of the street.

She turned as well. Neither of them said a word but she could feel his gaze as they crossed the street back to where the others were. She ignored it as she wrapped herself back up into Lyon’s hold, and told herself it didn’t mean anything.

She didn’t miss the way his gaze kept returning to her though.

* * *

The calm happy feeling that she’d had earlier had been all but obliterated. Anxiety had slowly been clawing at her from the inside since she’d seen that house. The memories that bubbled to the surface left Juvia feeling suffocated and overwhelmed, as they continued to wander the streets.

She tried to ignore it. Tried to go back to the warmth, and comfort, but now that the floodgates had opened it seemed that everywhere she looked, something reminded her of her parents. More specifically, of her last night with her parents.

The quiet and stillness of the side streets had been replaced again with the bustle of people, and the cacophony of Christmas Carols, bells, and chatter, which only added to her unease.

It was too much. Too much emotion, too much noise, and not nearly enough personal space.

As she caught sight of the main road she finally caved. She grabbed Lyon’s arm, and clung to it like she was drowning, halting him in the process.

“I want to go home, I’m not feeling good,” she whispered, unable to look him in the eye.

He glanced down at her, concern mapped across his face. He pulled off his glove and placed his bare hand on her forehead. It’s warm against her chilled skin.

“Oi!” Gray’s voice called the others attention, bringing the group to a halt. He closed the distance between them, gaze locked on Juvia. “What’s wrong?”

The word nothing, rested on her lips and threatened to spill forth, but she bit down on it and forced herself to repeat her previous confession. “I’m not feeling well.”

“You don’t seem to have a fever,” Lyon said, as he removed his hand from her forehead and placed his glove back on, “We’re not far from the cathedral, it’s just one more stop. We’ll light the candles, then we can head home.”

Frustration welled up within her. She really didn’t want to do this anymore. She wanted to go home.

Gray tugged the blanket from his pack, shook it out and offered it to her with a scowl.

She took it, mumbled a “thank you” and wrapped it around her shoulders. It helped warm her, and the fresh scent of fabric softener was nice, but it did little to ease her distress.

Lyon placed a hand on the small of her back, rubbing lightly in circles. “We can grab you a tea if you want, and there will be benches inside the cathedral. I know you’re tired, but it’s just this one more thing, ‘kay? I just want to light a candle for my dad.”

He pressed against her back, urging her forward into the crowd, but she resisted, and he frowned. “Juvia?”

Gray huffed and stepped forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you back to the car.” He held out his hand towards Lyon. “Gimme the keys.”

“You’re seriously going to skip going to the cathedral?” Lyon asked.

Gray glared at him. “She’s not feeling well. We dragged her out her, and you promised we’d only be a few hours, and it’s gone well past that. You want to go to Cardia, go. I’m taking her to the car to warm up.”

Lyon glanced between the two of them, before reaching into his pocket and digging out his keys to hand to Gray.

Before he could Juvia grabbed Gray’s hand and pulled it back.

He frowned. “Wha-“

“It’s fine,” she said, clinging to him tighter. “You don’t have to take me to the car. I can survive a little bit longer.”

Gray huffed at her, and threw his arms up in frustration. “You shouldn’t have to. You didn’t have to come, but you did. You could have cut short the walk, and said you were getting tired a while ago but you didn’t. You’ve been quiet, and visibly uncomfortable for a while now, and didn’t even want to come into the Cathedral in the first place, so you shouldn’t have to.”

“And you shouldn’t have to miss out on something that’s important to you, just because I couldn’t be bothered to speak up before now.” Juvia looked up at Gray, with a pleading gaze. “I appreciate you wanting to take me to the car, but it’s not necessary. We can just grab some tea, and I’ll find a bench to rest on.”

“Juv-“

“I don’t want to be the reason you don’t light a candle for your mom tonight. I refuse to be.” She wrapped the blanket tighter around her and tried to steel her nerves.

Both Gray and Lyon seemed conflicted, but finally Gray shook his head and sighed. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

It wasn’t, and she could tell from the way he looked at her that he knew it too, but he relented.

Both released her, but fell into step on either side of her, like a pair of bodyguards.

She could sense Gajeel watching her and glanced his way, certain she’d be at the receiving end of yet another reproachful look. Instead she was met with concern.

The desire to run to him was overwhelming, but she told herself to hold out just a little longer. They’d have a moment alone soon enough, and she could apologize properly, instead of continuing to expect and demand his comfort whenever the need arose.

A little longer and she could show him that she had grown up. That she was no longer prone to the fits of her teen years. That she was getting better.

A little longer and she could prove to herself that she was strong enough to face the world alone.

* * *

The warmth from the cup in her hands seeped through her gloves and provided an excellent thing to focus on as they made their way through the overly crowded streets. More than once, she thought about demanding the keys for herself so that she could go back to the car, but she doubted Gray would let her wander back on her own.

There was a chance Gajeel would step in and offer to take her, he’d been sneaking glances back at her since they’d stopped, but his accusation that she was always expecting him to pick up the pieces still smarted. She wanted to prove that she could handle this. That he could have confidence in her being able to look after herself when he wasn’t around.

“There it is,” Lyon whispered to her in reverence.

Juvia looked up, and her heart stopped along with the rest of her. Her eyes scanned the building, up and up to the tips of the spiral towers. She took in the large arched windows, and the intricate knots carved into the stone archway above the door. Each and every detail was achingly familiar from years of staring at the picture stored in her bedside drawer, replaying the memory of the moment over and over again, for fear that one day she’d forget the little things.

_“Could you take a picture for us?” her mom asked, smiling at the woman standing before them, arm outstretched with a camera._

_“Of course!”_

_Her parents crouched beside her. Her tiny arms stretched out to wrap around them and each of them wrapped an arm around her in return. She felt safe, loved, happy._

_“On the count of three say cheese. 1, 2, 3.”_

_“Cheese!”_

Juvia’s vision blurred, and she tried desperately to blink back the tears. She’d been six, they’d been on vacation. Her mom had wanted to go see some famous festival. She hadn’t cared, had been happy to run about in the snow and stay out late and drink hot chocolate. They’d said she could sleep in the car on the drive home….

“Juvia, are you okay?” Gray stared at her with an intensity that felt as though he could see through her soul.

His words brought the others to a stop as well, and they all turned to look at her. Lyon had almost made it up the steps… the same steps she’d stood on in the picture.

Her eyes darted back and forth between them. She knew she needed to answer his question, and fast, before it became obvious that she indeed was NOT okay; but her thoughts were racing too fast and her head was clouded with thoughts of a time when things were normal. A time before all of this when she actually stood a chance at being happy.

“Juvia?” Lyon took a couple steps towards her, and she could hear the sound of his voice calling her, but the words just weren’t coming through. Everything sounded distorted, muffled like her head was underwater and everyone else was above.

Juvia slammed her eyes shut, and wrapped her arms tight about herself. She didn’t want to be here; should never have come. She’d avoided the stupid winter festivals for years, terrified of accidentally stumbling upon this place. Years of fights with caregivers, screaming fits to be left in the safety of their home or the orphanage, while they went out.

She stumbled back, feeling dizzy. Her pulse thundered in her ears, as memories of her mother and father kept pushing forth from the back of her mind. It was like a dam that had been torn asunder.

_The sound of laughter echoed in her mind, moments flashed before her eyes of falling snow, and a million lights. Warm arms wrapped tight around her, and the sound of soft carols, and then the loud screech of tires._

Her tea slipped from her hand and dropped to the ground, spilling out over the snow. Juvia stared down at it in a daze, feeling the loss far more deeply than was normal.

A hand grabbed her shoulder, and her eyes snapped open. Gray was holding tight to her. “Juvia?”

She pulled back from his grip, blurred vision drifting over the others and landing on Gajeel. He was frowning back at her, and everything in her gut twisted. He was right, he’d been right about her, and she knew it. She knew this had been a mistake, but instead of admitting it she’d stubbornly fought him. She’d told him off for actually caring for her, and this time she was truly on her own again.

Warm tears streaked down her face.

“Juvia, what’s wrong?” Lyon was walking towards her, hand outstretched, and she could see Gray moving to grab her again. Instinctively she stepped back, but Lyon didn’t stop. “Talk to me, what’s going on?”

He was pleading, but she couldn’t answer. Not even if she wanted to. Her throat was so dry, and it felt like it was constricting in on itself. He reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and caging her there.

It should have felt comforting, but she couldn’t breath. Her chest was tight and she was struggling for air.

“Just let me go!” The words tore from her throat, shrill and desperate.

Lyon held her closer, mumbling soothing words, even as she struggled in his grip.

“Please,” she sobbed.

Suddenly Lyon’s hand was being pried from her own.

"She said let her go!” Gray’s voice identified him more than the dark blob of hair that had forced its way between her and Lyon.

The second Gray’s hand released her, she turned. Her legs propelled her away from them, away from the church. She bumped into and jostled people in her flight, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered beyond her need to get away.

“Juvia!” Lyon’s cry pierced the crowd, calling out desperately; trying to summon her back.

She just ran faster. 

* * *

Lyon pushed Gray away as hard as he could, crying out to Juvia as he watched her weave her way through the crowd. He didn’t understand what was going on, all he knew was that something was wrong and he needed to go after her. To protect her from whatever it was that had upset her.

The fear he’d felt that morning came pushing back up, telling him he’d fucked up, that this was his fault, and that he was the one she was running from.

He shoved past Gray, ready to go after her, when he felt Gray grip his arm yet again. White hot rage shot through him, and he spun aiming to punch Gray only to find it was Gajeel there instead.

He deflect Lyon’s fist causing Lyon to stumble forward, almost face planting into the huge man’s chest.

“Don’t even think about it!” Gajeel growled, then glared past Lyon, “Oi, stay right where you are ice bastard, or I’ll come after you too!“

Lyon gathered his footing and straightened, turning to see Gray had halted a few feet away.

Gray whipped around to glare back at Gajeel. “You’re kidding me right? She’s clearly upset, and not thinking straight. What if she gets lost, or hurts herself, huh? I’m going after her.”

Gajeel released Lyon and caught up with Gray in a few strides, grabbed him and yanked him around. “No you’re not! You have no idea what’s wrong, and all you’re gonna be able to do is play twenty questions with her and she ain’t gonna want to answer a damn one of them!”

Gray slumped and looked away from Gajeel. His fists and jaw were clenched tight. “So you just expect us to let her run off alone like that?”

“I’ll go,” Lyon said, “Whatever it is, she’ll talk to me.”

Gajeel scoffed. “Yeah, the way she’s talked to you about everything else? If she wanted you to know she’d have told you already, and you wouldn’t have fuckin’ dragged her out here in the first place.”

“Gajeel….” Levy cautioned, coming up beside him with Natsu and Lucy in tow.

People around them were staring and muttering. Shooting them disgruntled looks.

Lyon frowned and took a deep breath, and tried to keep his voice low and even so they’d stop making a scene. “What are you talking about? I didn’t drag her out here.”

“You begged her to come,” Gray spat.

Lyon’s shoulders dropped and he rolled his eyes to the sky. The urge to punch Gray returned full fold. “Not helping.”

“Neither’s lying.”

“I wasn-“

“Oh shut it, both of you!” Gajeel snapped. “She hates these stupid festivals, she wouldn’a  come if you hadn’t guilted her about it, and I don’t need Gray to tell me that. I know about her parents, that’s why I’ve been tryin’ to get you to talk to her about that shit. But no; fuck listening to me, what do I know?”

Lyon’s stomach knotted, and he felt more than a little out of his depths. He had no idea what Juvia’s parents had to do with anything, but he did know that it was a touchy subject, and could easily see that being the source of her distress. It didn’t sit well with him, though. Surely she trusted him enough to tell him if that was the case.

“Go light your candles, I’ll go find her and deal with it,” Gajeel said, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Like hell you will. You’ve been an ass to her since we got here,” Lyon hissed.

“That’s because I’m tired of watching her throw her needs out the window just to make you happy. It’s bullshit! And you let her do it!” Gajeel yelled, drawing the attention of dozens of people. He glowered at them, and most quickly turned away.

Taking a deep breath he continued, eyes boring deep into Lyon’s. “Look, I ain’t saying you don’t care, or that she hasn’t told you some important shit. But you refused to listen when I tell you Juvia ain’t gonna just hand you her life story; no matter how much time or space you give ‘er. She lies about that shit to everyone including me, but instead of listen to someone with experience, you just buy whatever story she spins.”

“You can’t just force people to talk about things they don’t want to,” Lyon huffed. “You hate people prying into your life, asking unwanted questions, but when it comes to Juvia that’s exactly what I should do?”

“You, yeah. There’s a huge difference between a stranger asking shit and a friend; figured you might actually know the difference by now,” Gajeel spat.

“Guys that’s enough. This isn’t helping,” Lucy interjected stepping between the two of them.

“Lu’s right. Gajeel should go after Juvia,” Levy said, then turned to Lyon. “I know they’ve been fighting, but it’s only cause he’s been worried about her. You know he cares about her.”

Lyon nodded grudgingly.

“We’ll go in and light our candles, and he can text you once he’s found her. That way once she’s calmed down you can take her home, okay?” Levy instructed, looking at Lyon, and then at Gray who looked about as torn as Lyon felt.

He felt a surge of anger at Gray’s concern. Gray had spent the night doting on her, and Lyon hadn’t missed the way he kept stealing glances her way. He needed to keep an eye on that. The last thing Juvia needed was another player toying with her, then dumping her.

“Yeah,” Gray relented.

Levy turned and fixed Lyon with an expectant look, surprising him.

“Fine….” He turned to face Gajeel. “Just text me when you find her, ‘kay?”

Gajeel nodded, offering him a rare sympathetic look. “Will do.” With that he turned and made his way into the crowd.

Lyon watched him go, with his heart in his throat.

Natsu’s hand landed on his shoulder. “She’ll be okay man.”

Lyon took a deep breath, and nodded. He knew she would be, Juvia had always been strong and resourceful, but he couldn’t shake the guilt that was gnawing at him. He was her best friend, and really, he should have known something was wrong. He should have listened to her, and let her stay home, or at least walked her back to the car, like Gray had tried to do. Instead he just kept pushing her, demanding more and more from her until she broke.

The night before came rushing back to him, all that she had done for him….

Lyon swallowed down the bile and turned to follow the others. The excitement he’d felt not moments ago had turned to ash in his mouth. 

* * *

Juvia shivered, and shifted her position, drawing her knees closer to her chest in an attempt to keep in the little warmth her body possessed. She drew the blanket tighter around her, but it did little to defend against the chill seeping into her bones from the icy metal hood of Gajeel’s jeep. She probably should have gone to Lyon’s car, but her initial instinct had been to avoid being found, and now she wondered if it would be wise to move. If they had gone to his his car already it would be awhile before they came back to let her in.

Besides she really didn’t want to face Lyon. She wasn’t ready to deal with the rush of questions that she knew were coming. For the first time since their friendship had started she doubted he was going to just let her get away with dismissing them. At least, not for long.

She reached up and wiped the fresh set of tears from her face. She’d really made a mess of things.

There was a distinct clunk of something hitting metal right beside her, and the jeep shifted and dipped to her right. She whipped her head up, and unfurled her body, ready to defend herself.

Instead Gajeel hoisted himself up onto the hood beside her. He rolled and settled next to her with a thud, shaking the vehicle in the process.

Juvia couldn’t decide if she ought to be grateful or mortified.

Of all the people to find her, Gajeel was the only one who wasn’t going to ask questions. On the other hand, the last thing he said to her was that he wasn’t doing this again. He’d warned her that this was how the night would end, and she’d thrown his concern right back in his face. Five years of friendship, and she just dismissed it like it was nothing.

It was time to face the consequences.

He leaned back against the windshield, eyes cast up to look at the stars, a contemplative look on his face. He said nothing, though.

“How did you know where I was?” she murmured.

Gajeel held his phone up, and she glanced at the screen.

Find My iPhone was written across the top bar with a map just below it.

Of course he’d remember her ID password.

She let her eyes wander over him, desperate for some sort of hint as to what he was thinking, what he planned to say.

He didn’t look upset. He was frowning; but that was almost always the case with Gajeel.

She bit her lip, unsure of how to breach the silence, but knowing that she would need to be the one to do so. Gajeel didn’t do feelings unless he had to.

“So….” He let the word trail off, and linger between them. His eyes focused on hers, holding her gaze firmly.

“Yeah, I know,” she averted her gaze. “You told me so.”

Gajeel sighed, and wrapped an arm around her waist, he forcibly dragged her closer to him. Her side met his and she leaned into him instinctively. For warmth, for comfort. He was so rarely affectionate, and the gesture wasn’t lost on her. More tears slipped down her cheeks as she buried her face into his shoulder.

“I think you were doing pretty good, actually. I mean, it was obvious towards the end you were struggling, but you held it together pretty well until we got to the cathedral.”

Juvia clung to him, her fist clenched around the front of his jacket as she sobbed quietly.

His hand moved in circles across her back, attempting to sooth her, but not rushing her. His other hand covered hers, and he held her. He let her cry without judgement, as he’d done before. It seemed no matter how frustrated he was, no matter how tired he was of her behaviour, he didn’t have it in him to turn away.

She didn’t understand why that was, maybe she never would, but she was grateful.

“Is this where they took you?” he asked, as her sobs started to subside.

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

He let out a long exhale, his breath a stream of white against the darkness of the night. “That’s shit.”

Another nod.

“If ya want I’ll come up with something. Or tell em to mind their own business for you.”

Juvia looked up at him, shock written across her features. After all he’d said, all that he’d insisted she tell Lyon, he was now offering to cover for her? “Why?”

“‘Cause you’re gonna do it anyways, and as much as I think you outta tell him, it ain’t my life. And tellin’ you want to do just seems to make you do the opposite. ‘Sides I want ya to know I’m here for you. Even if I think you’re being dumb.”

Juvia bit her lip and took a deep breath. “No, I think it’s time I told him. I don’t think he’s gonna just leave this one anyways.”

“Probably not, but he shouldn’t. Shouldn’t have left it all these months.” Gajeel grumbled. He took a deep breath, his chest puffing out as he did. “Look, I know you think you’re over this, and I aint gonna lie, you probably would have been okay tonight if it wasn’t for the whole coincidence, but that ain’t why I’ve been pushing you to talk to him.”

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him.

“I want you to tell him cause shit’s changing, and I can’t always be there for you. But I know that even if I ain’t, there’s a good chance he’ll be around. I want you to actually have other people you can trust, and talk to,” He explained.

Juvia’s heart clenched at the thought of him not being there for her, and she forced herself to breathe through the anxiety. He didn’t mean it as a forever thing, just as a reality. They were at opposite ends of the country, and the reality was he physically couldn’t be there all the time, and she couldn’t always be his priority either. This year had made that clear.

Gajeel sighed and her hair fluttered across her face. “Juv’s you can’t just get over this shit by bottlin’ it up and ignoring it. You need support, and I think he’d be good for that if you’d just let him.” Gajeel took a deep breath. His chest rose, and she rose with it, then slumped back against him as he exhaled.

She rested there for a moment, just absorbing his words.

Two years ago, Gajeel would never have told her that. He’d have been even more cut off than she was and lashed out at anyone who tried to get close. The first year of their friendship had been based strictly on their ability to just sit in silence together, and to weather the storm of each other’s mood swings without questions or expectations. Half of their revelations had been in the form of screaming matches or straight up fist fights. Nothing had come easy.

Clearly his move to Magnolia had changed things.

She knew most of it probably had to do with Levy, but obviously it extended from there. He had friends, a small group of them, but friends nonetheless. And he was more open, more affectionate. She briefly wondered if going to Margaret Collegiate was a mistake, if she should have stuck to her original plan and gone to Magnolia University instead. She quickly dismissed the thought though, because a half assed scholarship was still better than none.

Juvia sighed, and shifted, climbing up and over his leg, into his lap. Gajeel grunted, and glared at her, but spread his legs anyways and allowed her to settle between them. His arms wrapped around her as she leaned back into his chest. She looked up, and took in the night sky and the sparse scattering of scars.

Silent Night echoed out over the parking lot, and despite herself Juvia had to admit it was kinda nice. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of Gajeel’s cologne, and revelled in the warmth he provided.

She knew she’d have a lot to explain, but in that moment she wasn’t worried. Gajeel was right, she needed to stop running from her problems, and from the people who wanted to care for her.

It was time to try again. Maybe it wouldn’t work out. Maybe it would blow up in her face all over again, but she wasn’t gonna be alone if it did, and somehow that made it just a little less scary.

* * *

Lyon let out a long sigh as he stared down at the home screen of his phone.

Still no new text message.

His leg bounced in agitation, and he shifted uncomfortably on the wooden pew. He’d gotten a text from Gajeel fifteen minutes ago stating he’d found Juvia, but Gajeel hadn’t given him an address or anything.

At the time Lyon had texted back stating he was still waiting to light his candle, but to tell him where they were and he’d be there as soon as he could. He’d yet to receive a reply.

He debated heading to his car, thinking that, maybe, Juvia might be there. Or even just heading out and searching for her, but he thought better of it. Juvia usually didn’t do the logical thing, and wandering aimlessly wasn’t going to make him feel any less helpless.

“Still nothing?” Gray asked.

Lyon shook his head. The others offered him sympathetic glances.

“I’m sure she’s fine. Gajeel’s probably just talking to her, calming her down,” Lucy assured.

Levy nodded and hummed an agreement, “He’s actually been really worried about her, so they’re probably just having a heart to heart.”

Lyon shot her a disbelieving look, and noticed that Gray and Natsu looked equally uncertain.

“He’s actually not as bad at it as you’d think!” Levy defended.

Lyon bit the inside of his cheek. He wanted to believe her, but Gajeel wasn’t exactly the sensitive type, and the closest he’d seen of the two of them bonding was eating Chinese and mocking old horror films. Sure he knew that Juvia and Gajeel were close, but it definitely wasn’t conventional friendship, and it felt like they were more likely to punch out their anger, rather than talk deeply about anything.

His phone vibrated against his palm, and Lyon whipped it back up, sliding his finger across the message to open it.

_Metal Head: We’re at my jeep. Parking lot 3, just northwest of Grace and Main._

Lyon wasted no time in grabbing his coat, and standing. “I gotta go.”

The others nodded. A chorus of goodbye’s acknowledging his departure.

“Was good to see you all,” he replied, giving them a quick wave before maneuvering out of the pews and into the crowd shuffling toward the exit. Once there he sent off a text reply to Gajeel letting him know he was on his way.

“Dude, wait up,” Gray called, when Lyon was halfway down the steps of the cathedral.

Lyon pause, and turned to see him rushing to slip his coat back on and weave through the crowd. “What are you doing?”

“Coming with you, you’re kinda my ride remember?”

Lyon frowned and took a deep breath. “You should stay. I’m sure you can get a ride back with Natsu and Lucy, they’re headed home tonight.”

Gray frowned. “I don’t want to stay. I want to check on Juvia and go home with you guys.”

Lyon ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t have time for this, and the last thing he needed was Gray tagging along. It was gonna be hard enough to get Juvia to talk without an audience.

“Come on, we’re wasting time,” Gray said, and grabbed him by the arm dragging him down the rest of the steps.

Lyon wrenched himself out of Gray’s grip.

Gray spun to face him and fixed him with a frustrated look. “What’s your problem?”

“My problem is Juvia isn’t your concern. I can deal with her myself,” Lyon snapped, temper fraying even faster than usual. The last twenty minutes had been torture.

“Really? ‘Cause you didn’t seem too concerned earlier, I’m pretty sure I was the one willing to skip Cardia to go look after her,” Gray bit back.

Lyon recoiled a little, before fixing Gray with a withering glare.

Deep down he knew Gray was right, but it only added fuel to the fire of his ire. The idea that Gray had been more aware of Juvia’s emotional state, more considerate of it, bothered him. He was never the more selfish of the two of them, and he couldn’t ignore the unease he felt over Gray’s sudden interest in Juvia. Especially since it wasn’t a one-sided interest.  

He could practically hear Juvia’s voice chiding him about being unreasonable. Telling him he was just taking it out all of his frustrations on Gray, but he ignored the thought.  Why should he care? Gray had never held back over the years, and Lyon had often been the brunt of his frustrations. His anger bubbled up to the surface and erupted. “Of course I was concerned. What I wanna know is why were you, huh? Why were you suddenly willing to drop everything for a girl you’ve just met and barely know?” Lyon demanded. His face was inches away from Gray’s and he jabbed Gray’s chest with his finger.

“The fuck? Are you serious?” Gray backed up, putting some distance between them before turning his back on Lyon and walking away. “You know what, fuck it, I’m not doing this shit with you right now. Lets just go get Juvia and leave.”

Lyon caught the blush on Gray’s cheeks and saw red. “Or better yet, how about you stay away from her! Do you really think I’m just gonna sit back and let you manipulate her into trusting you? Into falling for you like every other girl you’ve set your eyes on. Cause if that’s what you think, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Gray whirled back around and anger flashed in his eyes. His fist were held up and clenched. “You’re such a fucking hypocrite, you know that.”

Lyon glared back, but a thread of confusion undermined his rage. The question rested on the tip of his tongue, but Gray spun on his heels and marched into the crowd before Lyon could ask what he meant.

Lyon followed after him, chasing him down as he veered off onto one of the side streets. “What the hell are you doing? You don’t even know where you’re going.”

“Parking lot 3,” Gray snapped. “Gajeel texted me too. Guess I’m not the only one who thinks you’re a shit boyfriend.”

“Says the guy who’s never had a girlfriend.”

“I’ve had a girlfriend.”

“Going out on three dates, hooking up and dumping a girl doesn’t count.”

Gray reached up and pulled at his hair, and let out a growl. “Why are you such a fucking asshole?”

“I learned from the best,” Lyon retorted, shooting him a scathing glare.

Gray let out another frustrated huff, and spun around. “You’re seriously blaming me for the way you’re acting right now?”

Lyon stopped and folded his arms across his chest. “You’re seriously saying you haven’t been an asshole for the better part of your life?”

Gary’s fingers curled and twitched, and he looked like he wanted to punch Lyon. Lyon waited for it, and readied himself for the fight. Finally Gray took a deep breath, and let the tension flood from his body.

Lyon frowned.

Gray sighed and ran a hand through his hair, and when he finally met Lyon’s gaze his eyes were pleading. “Look I- Yeah I’ve been an ass, especially to you, and maybe you’ve got every right to hate me. Maybe I can’t ever make up for that shit, but I sure as hell have been trying to.”

Gray dropped his gaze and started pacing. “And I get the hostility when I’ve said or done something shitty. Like after shopping on Monday, but I genuinely thought today was good, that we were getting along. I’m trying to figure out where the hell I went wrong, and I can’t. For once I can’t.” He stopped and looked Lyon dead in the eye. “All I’ve done is try to look after your goddamn girlfriend, cause you wanted to go light a candle for your dad and she didn’t, and ever since you’ve been down my fucking throat.”

Lyon wasn’t quite sure what to say. His anger was slowly ebbing, and as much as he wanted to, he was finding it harder and harder to justify it.

“I just- We’re family. I know you hate that we are, but fuck, I’m trying to be your brother, why the hell can’t you at least give me the chance?”

Something snapped in Lyon’s mind, and he stared Gray down as white hot fury washed over him. “You’re trying? After twelve years of you wanting nothing to do with me, you’ve decided that you’re gonna try. And it’s been what? Five days? And you’re already fed up. Good to know you’re dedicated.”

“At least I am! All you’ve ever done is made it abundantly clear that I’m a disappointment, and we’re not family,” Gray snarled. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

Lyon felt his own starting to form, as frustration and years of rejection came bubbling up to the surface. “Me? I’m the one who made that clear? We fucking took you in. I never once complained about sharing my room with you, about your outbursts. I looked after you, just like mom and Tear.”

“Bullshit! For years you’ve said I wasn’t your brother, for years you’ve hated me and resented me ever showing up.”

“Because you said it first!” Lyon howled. “In junior high, that night after your stupid hockey game, when you flipped out at dad for not being there! You screamed at him ‘how dare he go to a stupid rehearsal of mine instead of your actual game. He was your dad, not mine.’”

Gray paled, his face softened as he stared at Lyon. His voice came out strangled. “You heard that?”

“Of course I heard it! I was upstairs, grounded for forging their signatures, and writing notes to cover your ass for skipping school.”

“What?”  

“That’s why they were at my rehearsal that night. ‘Cause Mr. Sequen finally got in touch with them. I was constantly covering for you, trying to look out for you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“When? You wanted nothing to do with me at school, and someone was always around at home. When exactly did you give me a chance to talk to you about anything?” Lyon demanded locking eyes with Gray

Gray averted his gaze, and remained silent.

“You were always my little brother Gray. A pain in the ass, and more trouble than you were anything else, but I never begrudged you that. I knew it was hard on you, and that you felt alone, even though we were all right there. You just never saw me as anything other than a threat to what you had, when the reality is you could burn the world to the ground and they’d still love you more than they love me.”

“You know that’s no-“

“I’m done talking to you. I’m going to get Juvia, and I want to talk to her alone. If you want to be useful go grab her a tea, she’s probably freezing.”

Gray hesitated. He looked like he wanted to say something.

Lyon glared at him.

Gray sighed. “If that’s what you want.”

Lyon nodded at him, then pulled out his phone and searched for directions towards the parking lot.

He could hear the crunch of snow as Gray headed back towards the festival. As the sound faded, hot tears rolled down his cheeks. He told himself he didn’t care, that the fact that Gray was already frustrated, just proved he wasn’t sincere. He told himself it didn’t matter either way, he’d given up long ago and he wasn’t trying again.


	15. Unsteady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where things get a little heavy, and Juvia finally talks about her past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry this is late! How about a double chapter post to make up for it?

It wasn’t hard to spot Gajeel’s jeep, especially when he and Juvia were seated on the hood.

It was weird seeing them in a truly intimate moment; huddled together staring up at the stars.

Gajeel almost seemed tender, and had a rare smile on his lips as Juvia talked. He was the first to notice Lyon’s approach. His dark red eyes locked with Lyon’s from a distance, and he nudged Juvia to get her attention as well.

She tensed when she saw him, the wistful look she’d worn a moment prior falling from her face to be replaced with nervousness as he got closer.

Once he was a few cars away she eased herself forward, slipping from Gajeel’s embrace and sliding to the edge of the hood.

That’s where he met her, perched on the edge of the jeep, wrapped in the blanket Gray had given her. 

The look she gave him as he stood in front of her broke his heart. He ignored her attempt to greet him, instead wrapping her up in a tight embrace before she could utter a sound. He leaned into the hug and let his hand trail up and down her back.

She clung to him in return, and a moment later he could feel her body begin to shake. He let her cry, and tried to ignore Gajeel’s stern gaze.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whimpered against his chest.

Lyon sighed and shook his head. “Don’t be. I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s not your fault. You tried to tell me you weren’t feeling well and I didn’t listen. I should have.”

Juvia clung to him, her hands balled into fists on his chest. “I-I should have - told you. I should have…. I just couldn’t. I keep saying it’s okay, I’m fine, I’m over it, but it’s a lie. I keep lying to you and you keep forgiving me and I just- I don’t understand.”

Lyon frowned, and his stomach twisted at her words. It hurt. He hated the idea that she was lying to him, the way she lied to everyone else. He hated it, but he couldn’t shake Gray’s words, or the idea that she’d tried to tell him. She’d tried and he’d just bowled over her attempts and bullied her into coming out. How many times had he done that?

“I’ll always forgive you,” he whispered, trying to sooth her. “You’re the best friend I’ve got, and I can’t to lose you. You’re the only one who accepts me for me, so I’ve gotta accept you too. I don’t care if you lie to me. I don’t want you to, I want you to tell me things, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna hate you if you don’t.”

Juvia curled into him, and he could hear her take a deep, shuddering breath.

“That’s it,” he soothed. “It’s all gonna be okay.”

Juvia shook her head. “It’s really not okay. I- my parents-”

“Take a minute. Breath. Collect yourself. Once you’re ready to tell me, I’ll listen.”

Gajeel grumbled, drawing Lyon’s gaze.

Lyon glared back at him. “I’m not saying she doesn’t need to tell me, I’m just saying she doesn’t need to do it this exact minute, while crying and freezing on the hood of your car. You couldn’t have bothered to at least let her get in and warm up?”

Gajeel sneered at him, but then took a deep breath and passed a hand over his face. “I was a little distracted, she was about ten times more hysterical when I got here.”

Juvia sat up and glared at him over her shoulder. “I was not.”

“You were close enough.” Gajeel said.

“Was not.”

Lyon sighed. “Doesn’t matter, you must be freezing.”

Juvia bit her lip but nodded.

“‘Kay well how about we head to the car, once you’re warm we can talk,” Lyon suggested.

“Okay,” Juvia agreed, taking another deep breath.

“You sure you’re good to do this?” Gajeel asked, offering her a concerned glance. “If you don’t think you’re up for it, we can climb into the jeep.”

Juvia shook her head. “I’ll manage.”

He fixed her with a look.

“I prom- I will tell him everything this time. I’ll call you tonight once we’re settled and you can grill him if you want.”

“Nah, I think you’ll actually do it this time,” Gajeel conceded.

“I promise I won’t just let it get dropped.” Lyon said, meeting Gajeel’s eyes.

Gajeel gave a curt nod, but a smug smirk crept onto his face. “Take care of her, if you don’t I’ll kick yer ass tomorrow.”

Lyon rolled his eyes, and placed his hands on Juvia’s waist, and helped her climb down from the jeep. She probably didn’t need the help, but it made him feel better.

She waved at Gajeel as they turned in the direction of the car. “Hey, say bye for me? And sorry?”

Gajeel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Sure.”

Lyon grabbed her hand, as they left. He took a deep breath, letting the cold air burn his nose and lungs. It helped clear his mind. Exhaustion was starting to kick in. Too many emotions, and too much going on, in far too short a time had left him drained. He was honestly looking forward to some down time with Juvia at this point.

It would do him some good.

“Lyon, why isn’t Gray with you?” Juvia was looking up at him apprehensively.

Lyon clenched his jaw. He’d forgotten about having to see Gray again. The temptation to just tell her Gray was getting a ride with Natsu and Lucy, and leave him behind was overwhelming.

He glanced down at Juvia, and noticed the concern written across her features. She might believe him, but the second Gray got home and she found out what had happened she’d flip, and as much as he was angry, it would be rather cruel to leave Gray stranded without a word.

He carded his hand through his hair. “He’s gone to get you tea. I just wanted a chance to talk to you alone. Figured you wouldn’t want an audience.”

“I don’t mind.”

Lyon frowned at her. “Since when.”

Juvia averted her gaze, and shrugged. “Did you two get into a fight?”

“Don’t try to change the topic.”

Juvia fixed him with a stern look. “I’m not. If you need an answer, I just figure I owe him an explanation. He offered to take me back to the car, and I should have just accepted. Instead I insisted everything was fine and then freaked out minutes later. I owe him an explanation, just as much as I owe you one.”

“Did you tell Gajeel to text him?” Lyon asked, coming to a halt as they hit a street. He waited for the cars to pass before crossing. There were a few people making their way towards the festival, but otherwise the back streets were quite.

“No. But I told him he could.” Juvia halted, her grip tightened on his hand and pulled him to a stop.

Lyon turned around and let out an exasperated sigh. “What?”

“Was your fight about me?”

“We didn’t have a fight.”

Juvia glared at him expectantly.

Lyon glared back. How was it that they ended up with this being the topic? They ought to be talking about her, and her parents and what they had to do with her freak out. Only Juvia could switch gears this quickly, and for once he was frustrated. “It wasn’t about you.”

He turned to keep walking only to have her pull him to a halt again.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Excuse me?” Lyon gave her an incredulous look.

She had the decency to look uncomfortable about her demand, and shifted awkwardly under his stare. “You should tell me. I have a right to know what I’m walking into.”

Lyon scoffed. “The way you warned me about Gajeel? Would have been nice to have a heads up telling me you’d talked to him this morning.”

“I didn’t talk to him this morning,” Juvia replied, confusion mapped across her features.

“But Levy said-” Lyon paused and replayed the conversation in his head, only to realize she hadn’t said anything of the sort. He’d just assumed that’s what she was talking about. “If you didn’t talk to him about yesterday then what the hell was he so pissed off about?”

Juvia bit her lip, and started walking again. Lyon fell into step beside her but kept his gaze fixed on her.

Finally she sighed. “He was mad because I lied to him earlier. I told him you knew that tomorrow was my the anniversary of my parents death.”

Lyon felt like he’d just been hit with a sledge hammer and stopped dead.

Juvia stopped beside him, gaze trained on the sidewalk.

The silence between them roared in his ears, and Lyon struggled to find something to say in response to that. He took a shuddering breath, and stared straight at her, waiting for her to look him in the eye.

When she finally did he could see the unshed tears that were starting to gather.

“Juvia….” He swallowed. “I- Why didn’t you-” He shook his head and stepped towards her, and wrapped his arms about her. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Her arms slid around his waist, and she stood silently in his embrace. Her breaths were loud and deep, and he knew she was fighting back tears.

It explained a lot.

Lyon felt his own eyes start to sting, and he fought back the tears threatening to fall. Guilt rushed over him in waves until he felt like he was drowning in it. Gods he’d been so selfish today. So, so selfish, and she’d just let him. His gut twisted in knots, and he finally understood Gajeel’s attitude; or at least, he was starting to.

What he couldn’t understand was why she hadn’t just told him that in the first place. He knew it was hard for her to talk about it, but surely she could have at least gotten that far? Did she not trust him to understand? Did she think he would just dismiss her?

He was brought back to earlier in the afternoon. Had he not done exactly that? She kept saying she didn’t want to come, that she was tired even though she’d slept in. Sure it wasn’t the real reason, but he knew it was out of character for her. He knew something was wrong, but instead of paying attention to his gut and trying to figure out what that was he dismissed her feelings and reasons entirely, believing his to be more important. Wasn’t this exactly what he’d been afraid of last night? The idea that she would just let him get his way, at the cost of her own feelings and wants.

And yet, at the first sign of her standing her own ground and not going along with him, Lyon had pushed back. He’d begged, bribed, and demanded her compliance without a second thought until she gave in.

He squeezed tighter, pressing her to him, afraid that she might slip through his fingers and fall away like water. He knew it was impossible, but he’d never felt a distance between them before, and all of a sudden it was like a gaping chasm had opened up between them.

A wicked gust of wind picked up and cut through them leaving Juvia shivering in his arms. Lyon frowned, he didn’t want to let her go, but she really needed to get out of the cold and warm up. He sighed, but released her. He needed to get a grip. He was done being selfish, it was time he started acting like the friend she needed. He owed her so much, but getting her warm would at least be a step in the right direction.

He wrapped his hand around hers, and looked her in the eyes. “I’m really sorry I didn’t listen earlier, and I know owe you a much bigger apology than that, but let’s get you warm first. 'Kay?”

Juvia reached up and wiped her eyes then nodded.

He gave her hand a squeeze before guiding her forward again, striding with purpose towards the car.

* * *

Much to Lyon’s annoyance Gray was already waiting at the car when they arrived. He was huddled against the side, tea clutched in his hand, and was staring off into a snowbank. As they approached he looked their way. Their eyes locked for a second before Gray averted his gaze back to the snowbank.

It wasn’t until they were close that he looked their way again, and this time he avoided Lyon altogether, choosing to focus on Juvia instead.

Coward. It was the first thought that came to Lyon’s mind, followed closely by a protective streak of anger, as Gray’s face softened when he took in the sight of her. Her eyes were still a little red and glossy, and she clutched the blanket tight around her.

For her part, Juvia didn’t seem to want to look at him. Though, it was more likely that she just couldn’t face him. She stopped a few feet short of him and the car.

Lyon released her hand and dug his own into his pocket, fishing out his keys. He shot Gray a look, and Gray quickly removed himself from the side of the car and out of the way.

His eyes returned to Juvia, and held up the cup of tea. “Here, it’s chamomile. It’s probably not all that hot anymore, but hopefully it’s still warm and will help.”

Juvia took the cup from his hand and muttered a “thank you.” She took a deep breath, then took a sip. “It’s still warm. Sorry we kept you waiting.”

Lyon frowned but slipped into the car, and slid the key into the ignition, before turning it. The car purred to life. He made sure the doors were unlocked as he slipped back out of the driver’s seat and closed the door behind him. It would need to run for a while before it produced anything close to heat.

Gray shook his head. “Nah, it’s cool. I figured you two were talking, and I don’t mind the cold weather. I was just worried about you.”

Juvia’s cheeks flushed, going from pink to red.

Lyon’s eyes darted between them, and he fought to keep his anger in check. He hated that Gray had that kind of affect on her. That even now, when she was emotionally overwhelmed he still managed to pull out feelings of affection.

“Sorry. I really didn’t mean to ruin your night like this,” Juvia said, rubbing her free hand up and down her arm and side.

Lyon frowned. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

Gray nodded, his eyes flickered to Lyon before returning to Juvia. “He’s right, it’s not your fault.”

Juvia bit her lip, fingers fidgeting with the sleeve on her cup. “But if I’d-”

“No buts” Lyon cut her off. “Our night’s been fine, and anything that hasn’t been has nothing to do with you.”

Juvia frowned at him. “You got upset because of me, because you were worried for me, and you wouldn’t have been if I’d just told you the truth, or if I’d let Gray take me to the car when he’d offered. I could have just waited here for you both then none of this would have happened.”

Lyon let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. “And then I’d still have no idea tomorrow’s the day your parents died.”

Gray stared at Juvia in disbelief. Eyes wide and mouth open.

“Was I worried, yes. Do I wish you’d told me beforehand, yes. But even if that had a hand in us fighting, it definitely wasn’t the reason for it.”

“He’s right,” Gray said, carding his hand through his hair, “We fight all the time, and this one had just been sitting on the back burner waiting for the right ignition. I’m the one that fucked up, not you.”

Juvia looked back and forth between them, before nodding.

Gray sighed. “So your parents, huh?”

Juvia nodded.

Lyon looked at her and opened the backdoor, “it should be warm enough now.” He shot Gray a look.

Juvia moved to climb into the back, and Gray turned, and started walking away from them. Juvia reached out and caught his arm.

“Where are you going?” She asked, her eyes darted between him and Lyon. “We’re still giving you a ride home right?”

Gray glanced over at Lyon.

“We are.” Lyon intoned. He’d rather not, but getting Juvia to agree to leaving Gray here wasn’t likely, and he wasn’t about to fight her on anything. He just hoped she didn’t expect him to extend the kindness beyond a ride.

Gray let out a breath, and his shoulders sagged in relief. His eyes drifted back over to Juvia and he gave her a soft smile. “Then I’m just going for a walk. It sounds like you two have a lot to talk about, and I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

Lyon blinked in surprise. He figured he’d need to chase Gray off now that Juvia was here, but instead he was volunteering to go. He felt a small surge of gratitude and quickly shoved the feeling away, reminding himself that he was mad at Gray.

“You won’t,” Juvia said, holding tighter to Gray, as he shifted away from the car.

Again Gray’s eyes flickered towards Lyon, concern and apprehension were written all over his face.

Lyon met his gaze with a frown. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle about his intentions, he wanted Gray gone so he could talk to Juvia alone, and to his absolute frustration Juvia seemed to be the only one who didn’t get that. “He’ll be fine Juvia, just let him be. We’ll text him when we’re done talking.”

Juvia locked eyes with Lyon and frowned, effectively silencing him. She sighed and flickered her eyes over to Gray. “You don’t have to stay if you’re uncomfortable, but I owe you just as much of an explanation as I owe Lyon, and…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before letting it out. “And I’m ready to talk about it, either with both of you right now, or separately if that’s what needs to happen.”

Alarm bells were going off like crazy in Lyon’s head. The idea that she was adamant enough to tell Gray at a later point, probably alone, bothered Lyon to his core. He had no idea why she felt the need to, and while he supposed he could ask her while Gray was gone that wouldn’t change the fact that she would talk to him later. His gut twisted uncomfortably, unsure which option he hated more.

He risked a glance at Gray, trying to get an idea of which way he was leaning, and instead, found Gray staring back at him with the same dismissive look he used to wear back in high school. Lyon swallowed, trying to ignore the way it made him feel unwanted.

This was how it had always been, and no matter how much Gray wanted to pretend otherwise, it was only a matter of time before Gray detached, and went back to holding him at a distance.

“Up to you.” Gray told him.

Lyon tightened his grip on the car door, then motioned with his head towards the other side of the car. “Get in.”

Gray’s eyes flared just for a second before he nodded.

Juvia slipped into the back seat and scooted over to the middle one, with Lyon following right behind her. Gray climbed in from the other side, sandwiching Juvia between them.

Silence hung in the air for a long moment even after they’d settled into their seats. It was a bit cramped, and Lyon wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulder for comfort, and to create a little more space, but Gray’s shoulder was pressed tight to Juvia’s and Lyon would prefer to keep the physical contact between them to punches, and grabs.

“So….” Gray started, but let the word hang between them. He licked his lips, and shifted slightly, jostling Juvia in the process. “Anything else I need to be caught up on?”

Juvia thought about it, but shook her head. They hadn’t really gotten any further than that, just her spur of the moment confession, and then the conversation had devolved into hugs and tears.

“No that’s pretty much all I know,” Lyon admitted, he turned to Juvia. “I mean, I can guess that’s why you didn’t want to come out today, and that that’s where you’re little tradition with Gajeel comes from….”

Juvia shrugged, but nodded her agreement anyways.

“What I’m still a little confused about is the whole freak out at Cardia.”

“Yeah, you seemed really uncomfortable with the whole thing, when we mentioned it,” Gray said, “though you’ve been quiet ever since we saw that house on MacIntyre Street.”

Juvia bit her lip. “The house seemed really familiar. Brought back memories.”

Lyon reached out and took her hand in his. She squeezed hard, as soon as he did. It hurt a bit but he kept his mouth shut, knowing this was hard enough. If it offered her the comfort she needed to get through this, then he’d bear with the pain.

“They weren’t bad memories, just…. They were of the last vacation we took, which happened to be the night before they died. My mom really wanted to go see some famous festival of lights half way across the country, she said she’d heard about it the year before from a friend, and that it was supposed to be one of the most beautiful places to see it.”

Lyon’s stomach twisted, already sensing where this might be going. He held her hand tighter, and placed the other on top.

Tears welled up in Juvia’s eyes. “I was six, so I had no idea where we were going, only that it took three days to get there by car. I was so worried we weren’t gonna be home in time for Christmas, but they promised me we were just gonna drive straight back home. We didn’t even wait until morning….”

Tears rolled down Juvia’s cheeks, and Lyon reached out to brush them away, then pulled her into his chest, and wrapped her in a tight hug.

Gray’s hand hesitantly reached up before resting on her back, he moved it in stiff circles, an awkward attempt at comfort. Then again, Gray had never been great at dealing with crying women, that’s why it had always fallen to Lyon to take care of his mom and Ultear.

Lyon fought the urge to swat his hand away, and replace it with his own, but he thought better of it. As much as he wanted to be petty, now wasn’t the time, and Juvia deserved all the support she could get.

“We should have stayed, they shouldn’t have been driving at night like that,” she sobbed.

“You can’t blame yourself, accidents happen all the time, and they made their own decisions,” Gray stated.

That earned him a glare. Lyon wished he could smack some compassion into the idiot. Who said shit like that? Sure, he understood Gray was trying to make sure Juvia didn’t shoulder the blame for her parent’s death, but by basically telling her her parents were stupid? It wasn’t a wonder Juvia never talked to people about her issues, Lyon had forgotten that most people were terrible at consolations.

She shook her head against his chest, and her response came out muffled. “I know, I know they should’ve known better. Who drives on back roads in the middle of the night, in the dead of winter?”

Both Gray and Lyon frowned at that, and shared a look before refocusing on the girl between them. A million questions raced through Lyon’s mind, but he couldn’t form them. A lump in his throat was growing as he thought about the various tiny highways surrounding Magnolia, and how treacherous they were. How isolated they were. It was reckless of her parents to do something like that.

“How long?” Gray choked out.

Lyon glared at him.

Gray ignored him and asked again. “How long were you left waiting?”

“I don’t know.” Juvia stuttered. “Hours? I woke up to the tires screeching and the car slamming into a tree. It was the middle of the night, I don’t even know if someone passed by and just didn’t see it. I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was being dragged from the car and it was bright.”

“Were they-” Lyon bit down on the question, bile rising in his throat.

Juvia shook her head and snuggled deeper into him. “They were dead. I crawled into the front when it happened, I tried to wake them but they wouldn’t move. I held my mom’s hand and squeezed, and begged and pleaded, and screamed, and cried and nothing. I didn’t even understand.”

Lyon’s stomach dropped.

He thought of every moment Juvia reached for his hand. The instinctive way she did it. The way she seemed to relax when he squeezed back. He’d had no idea such a simple gesture held so much pain and desperation. He wanted to rip his glove off and hers and just, just hold her hand and never let go.

A question still lingered on his mind, though, and he hesitated to ask it. He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but assumptions had gotten him into all sorts of trouble today, and finally he found the courage to push for one more piece of information. “It was Magnolia wasn’t it?”

Juvia nodded against him.

He wrapped her up tighter and felt the tremors shake through her body as she sobbed. It was horrible that she’d been through all of that, he couldn’t even imagine the trauma that had come from that. He knew how bad it was to loose your parents at a young age, but to lose both? And in such a gruesome manner. And he’d dragged her back out, to the exact place it had stemmed from. Even if he hadn’t known….

Lyon felt sick.

She should never have been here. He shouldn’t have insisted on any of this, should have asked exactly why it was that she hated Christmas so much, instead of assuming it was because she was an orphan and was just lonely.

Gajeel was right, he should have known about this. He wouldn’t have even thought about dragging her home to his family had he known, let alone out shopping, or here.

And that was the crux of her not telling him wasn’t it? In the same way she’d lied to Gajeel to ease his worries, she’d hidden the truth from him. And he’d let her. Gajeel had warned him and he’d dismissed the concern, even assured her he didn’t need to know, believing that she would tell him when she was ready or if he needed to know. He’d stupidly thought that he was different, and her need to please didn’t apply to him.

How wrong he was.

Lyon let out a sigh and continued to stroke her back as she sobbed in his arms.

Gray cleared his throat, drawing Lyon’s attention. He was staring intently at Juvia, looking entirely uncomfortable. He brow was furrowed and his hand had stopped moving, it rested against her shoulder stiffly. “If you want, I could drive.”

Lyon blinked then frowned. “Why would I want that?”

Juvia tensed in his arms, and Gray glared at him.

For a moment Lyon was sure Gray would snap back, or lash out. His muscles were strung and his fists were clenched. The moment passed though, and Gray deflated. He stared at Lyon helplessly. “'Cause then you won’t have to. You could stay back here with Juvia, you’re good at this whole comfort thing, and at least that way I could feel useful.”

Lyon paused and thought about it for a moment. He hated to admit it but there was logic to that statement, and it wouldn’t have been the first time Gray had driven his car. He hated the idea of Gray driving him around yet again, but he hated the thought of leaving Gray with Juvia even more. He knew that it was the best option for them, that it made the most sense even if it didn’t sit well with him. He just didn’t want to admit in.

Juvia shifted in his arms so that she could look up at him. Her eyes were red and starting to puff up, and there were streaks of tears running down her cheeks.

That was all he needed to swallow his pride. She’d been there for him yesterday and he wasn’t about to repay that by abandoning her to Gray for comfort, all so he could drive his own car. “Fine, just be careful.”

Gray ground his teeth, but nodded nonetheless. He gave Juvia’s shoulder one more squeeze, and looked like he was about to say something, only the words never came. He sighed and slipped out of the car, moving to the driver’s seat.

Lyon’s eyes followed him, wary and frustrated. It was hard to believe that only a few hours ago they’d been acting like friends, now it seemed like even though they weren’t fighting the rift had grown.

* * *

The ride home had been quiet and the mood was tense. Gray and Lyon hadn’t said anything to each other, but the animosity between them was palpable, which left Juvia feeling even more uncomfortable.

Her tears had subsided before they’d made it out of Magnolia, and she’d spent the rest of the ride snuggled into Lyon’s side, trying to pull out of the constant spiral of thoughts and memories that were bogging her down.

It was a losing battle, and she found herself lost in thought until they pulled into the driveway of Lyon’s home.

The lights were on and it was late enough that Ur should have been done her show.

Her chest constricted at the thought of having to face Lyon’s parents. Needing to relive her past for a second time that night was daunting, and she wasn’t sure she could do it, never mind the fact that she wasn’t sure how they would react. All too often people tried to dismiss grief, feeling far too uncomfortable with it too want to deal with it. It had been her biggest issue growing up, and she’d learned that death and grief were simply topics better left unspoken.

Her discomfort must have read on her face, because Lyon gave her hand a squeeze. Or maybe he just knew her well enough. Their eyes locked and he forced a smile. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m right here with you.”

She nodded, took a deep breath, and opened the door. It was time to face the music. No more running, no more hiding. For better or worse she was going to take a step forward, and try trusting again.

* * *

Ur and Silver called out a greeting when they entered, and appeared at the door to the family room a moment later, all smiles and cheer.

Gray had taken Juvia and Lyon’s coats and was hanging them, and Lyon was standing by her side, with a hand resting on the small of her back for support.

The second Ur and Silver spotted them their smiles fell, and were replaced by matching concerned looks. Their eyes darted between the three of them.

“What happened?” Ur asked, a sliver of frustration slipping into her tone.

Juvia bit her lip, the words lodged in her throat. How was she supposed to answer that? Where was she supposed to start?

“Did you two get into another fight? Because really, tonight is about family, and this is the one night whe-”

“Mom,” Lyon warned.

Ur frowned. “You did get into a fight, didn’t you?”

“Mom!” Gray snapped, moving to Juvia’s side. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging look. “It’s not about us right now. Juvia’s had a rough night, and she needs to tell you something.”

“Juvia?” Silver cocked his head in her direction, sending her a worried look.

Juvia shifted under his gaze, and her nails bit into her palm. She hated seeing him look at her like that, she didn’t want to cause anyone in this family more pain than they’d already suffered. They’d all lost so much, it wasn’t fair to lay her issues at their feet and expect them to address it. The guilt was overwhelming. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t want to ruining everyone’s night with this, you’ve all been so kind, and I just-”

“I already told you, you’re not ruining anything. You can tell them. I wish you’d have told me this morning; I wish you would have told me no, and held firm on that, instead of caving,” Lyon snipped.

Juvia flinched, frustration taking hold of her. She knew he was right, but it didn’t change the fact that his reprimand hurt. Lyon never failed to support her decisions, no matter how bad they were. He’d always had her back, and while she understood his frustration, she hated hearing it.

And it wasn’t as simple as he made it sound, she’d tried to talk to people before, she’d tried to open up. It hadn’t worked out more often than not, and even when it had, even when they understood, it hadn’t mattered. Everyone else was looking out for themselves first and foremost and she learnt the hard way that she needed to as well.

“Lyon’s right,” Gray said, his eyes flicked up to Lyon before quickly returning to her. “You could have told us about your parents, we would have understood.”

There was a lull to the conversation, a moment of silence in which Juvia could see the tidal wave of emotions cresting above her. It was a moment of peace and understanding, before everything came crashing down on her.

How many times had she been told that? How many times had she believed those words; only to have it blow up in her face?

Something buried deep inside of her snapped. “That’s what they all say!”

“Uh?” Gray frowned, clearly not following the line of conversation, but sensing her anger. He took a step back, and held up his hand defensively.

Everyone else looked just as wary, seeming to sense the shift in her mood.

“That’s what everyone says. It’s what you’re supposed to say. 'Of course we understand, take your time, it’s okay not to be okay.’” Juvia balled her hands into fists as years worth of anger came bubbling to the surface. It wasn’t right. It just wasn’t right.

“Juvia….” Lyon was looking down at her, and his hand rubbed circles into her back, trying to ease her distress. Normally it would have worked, at least a little bit, but she’d already pushed herself too far that night. All her self control seemed to have fled and she couldn’t stop herself even if she wanted to.

“Every single time I was assigned a foster home, they would all say that. They’d sit there and listen to my social worker, and they’d nod along and say all the right things. But it was never really okay! No one wanted a kid that was miserable at Christmas, no one wanted to deal with the nightmares, and the emotional breakdowns.”

Ur stepped forward, and Juvia took a step back, causing Ur to pause. “Sweetie, I know you’re hurt and you’re upset, grief is horrible, and it can feel like the world is against you, that no one understands but-”

“You don’t understand! I went through five families. I was placed in five homes, and every time they sent me back like I was some unwanted Christmas present.” Her body shook as she fought back the tears and struggled to keep her voice from cracking. “None of them wanted me after a few months. It was too much. And the one family that did-” Her voice caught then, and her throat closed up.

Matthew’s goodbye flashed in her mind again and tears slipped from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She was never enough, never worth keeping.

She was met with silence, and uncertain faces. All of them were frozen in place, and so was she. This was it, this was the breaking point. She’d pushed too far yet again, and they were going to tell her she had to leave.

Silver stepped forward, and before Juvia could retract or pull away his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

She froze, waiting for the rejection. The 'I’m sorry, that’s awful but we’re not up for this’.

“Shh, it’s okay. Just let it out sweetheart.” His voice was warm and soothing, and his hand stroked her back in slow, measured strokes. “It’s okay baby girl, no one is going to abandon you here, no one is sending you away, I promise.”

Her throat constricted and hot tears poured down her cheeks as she choked out a sob. Her arms shook as she wrapped them around him.

“That’s it, just let it go. You’re safe.” He continued to whisper in her ear. Words of love, and acceptance repeated over and over again as she sobbed against his chest. Gentle touches, and slowly the others closed in surrounding her and offering their own words.

It took some time but eventually her sobs subsided, and Silver ushered her into the family room, and sat her on the couch. She vaguely heard Ur instruct Lyon to go make her a cup of tea. He nodded and left, and a moment later Gray followed. He said something, but again she barely heard it. Her heart was hammering in her ears and her mind wasn’t really focused.

Silver sat down beside her, and she leaned into him instinctively. Ur sat to the other side of her and rubbed her back lightly. It was grounding, sitting between them, having them care for her that way. It reminded her of years ago, when Matthew would console her when she woke from a nightmare, and it left her with a bittersweet feeling. It was nice to have this again, but she was terrified, because it wasn’t going to last. Sooner or later Lyon was going to come out, and then all of this would disappear.

It hurt just thinking about it, and a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Silver coaxed, stroking her hair.

Juvia shook her head, but kept quiet. Her throat hurt and she had no way of expressing or explaining what she was feeling. Thankfully neither of them pushed for more.

“I promise you, if anyone is going to understand and support you, it’s going to be the people you have with you right now,” Silver said. “I was so broken after Mika died. So broken and so lost. I couldn’t even look at my own son, but they never gave up. They took Gray in and slowly they took me in too, and you’re no different. We don’t abandon someone just because they’re struggling.”

Silver pulled back a bit and placed his hand on the crown of her head so he could look her in the eye. “You will always be welcome here, Juvia. Always. No matter what okay?”

More tears spilled forth, but she nodded anyways. She was tired, so tired of being alone and trying to be strong. Even if it wasn’t meant to last, for the moment she had found a place where she didn’t have to be, and she intended to make the most of it while it lasted.

* * *

Lyon wandered into the kitchen in a daze. He moved on autopilot as he filled the kettle and started rummaging through the cupboard looking for tea.

He pulled out several options, and stared at them blankly, wondering what she’d want, what would be the most soothing, but not being able to think past that. He heard footsteps behind him and slowly turned towards the sound.

Gray pulled open the freezer, and grabbed the ice cream from it. He turned, and their eyes locked. He froze, and the two of them stood in silence, staring at each other.

Lyon glowered at him, and Gray frowned.

“I thought ice cream might help,” Gray announced, straightening and finally moving forward to set the ice cream on the island counter.

Lyon’s eyes followed his movements.

Gray tried to keep his eyes averted, but they kept flicking up to meet Lyon’s glare with a scowl. It was more restraint than Gray had ever shown, but Lyon could tell it was wearing thin as he approached the cupboards to grab a bowl.

Finally Gray’s resolve dissolved. “What?”

Lyon said nothing and continued to stare him down. In truth, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. He had more than a few issues revolving around Gray, but he couldn’t place the one he was currently feeling. Everything was jumbled together, hurt, pain, anger, jealousy, all balled up into one all consuming emotion that left him feeling numb.

Gray huffed. “Look I know I’m not your favourite person at the moment, but can you just shelve it for the night so that we can focus on Juvia.”

Lyon hesitated, wanting to tell him that Juvia didn’t need his focus, or anything else of his, but he swallowed the words. She didn’t need them fighting either, and he was supposed to be focusing on getting her tea. He grunted an agreement, and turned his back to Gray. He needed to decide what tea to make for her.

“I’m home!” Ultear’s echoed through the house, drawing Lyon’s attention. He glanced at the clock and realized it was ten thirty, and frowned. That was really late, much later than even her latest night. He wondered what had kept her out so late, because surely it couldn’t have been work. He took another breath and dismissed it as well. He had more than enough to worry about tonight without adding Ultear’s work to the mix.

He could hear Ultear pause mid sentence and knew there was about to be another round of questioning.

It was then that a flash of brilliance hit him.

“Why don’t you go greet Ultear?” he told Gray, feeling proud that he’d come up with a way to get Gray out of the kitchen, without having to resort to violence. If he had to put up with Gray much longer there was a good chance he’d lose it.

“'Cause I’m busy, why don’t you?” Gray retorted.

“Cause I’m waiting on the water to boil so I can make tea for my girlfriend. I’ll take care of the ice cream too, just go fill Ultear in,” Lyon commanded.

Gray glowered at him. “Why don’t you? She’s your girlfriend, you should know more about this than I do, the fact that you don’t is another issue entirely.”

Lyon’s nose flared as he breathed deep. His hands balled into fists and he struggled not to launch himself across the kitchen right then and there. The only thing stopping him was Juvia.

Gray winced, and immediately raised his hands. “Shit, Lyon, I didn’t-”

“Get out.” His chest constricted and it felt like there was a hole where his heart was. He hadn’t felt that angry at Gray in a long time. He’d stopped caring what Gray thought about him, stopped caring about how Gray felt period, but what Gray had said had punched through his indifference and kept going.

Gray looked stricken. “But, I’m sorry-”

“I said, get out!” Lyon screamed.

Gray flinched, and looked at him in total shock.

The kettle clicked off behind him, but he paid it no mind. “Get out of my face, get out of my business, and get the hell out of my life. I’m fucking sick of you running your mouth, and then thinking you can just sweep it under a rug.”

Stomps echoed down the hall, followed by Ultear storming into the kitchen. She fixed Lyon with a scathing glare. “What the hell are you doing Lyon? You’re girlfriend is in the den crying her eyes out with Mom and Dad and you’re in here picking a fight with Gray?” she hissed.

Lyon glared back at her, seething with rage. Normally he could count on Ultear to at least hear him out before jumping to accusations, but apparently tonight he had a target painted on his back and his family was aiming for the bullseye. “I didn’t start it.”

“Sure, right, and I’m supposed to believe you because you said so right?” Ultear sneered.

Lyon clenched his jaw biting back a retort. He didn’t want to fight with Ultear, he was guaranteed to come out of it worse off, and he had no reason to be mad at her.

She continued to glare at him but took a deep breath and let some of the tension out of her shoulders. “All I know is you’re the one screaming and quite frankly now is not the time. Your girlfriend needs your attention, so go attend to her,” she said, stressing the word girlfriend.

Lyon ground his teeth, and grabbed the first box that caught his eye. He fished a bag from it and dropped it in the mug and poured the hot water over it, spilling some on the counter in the process. He hissed a curse and tried to find some semblance of calm as he wiped it up. He needed to find his center and fast, for Juvia’s sake, but it seemed like everyone was out to tear him to the ground.

He took one more calming breath before grabbing the mug and striding passed his siblings and out of the kitchen. He kept his eyes locked on the front door and didn’t slow until he reached the family room. He stopped just shy of the entrance and closed his eyes, taking a moment to compose himself.

He schooled his features and stepped into the room, and as soon as he did all the anger he’d been feeling fled as he took in the image of Juvia curled up between his parents. Despite her tear stained face she looked content. Her eyes lifted and met his, and she offered a small smile, and Lyon smiled back. He motioned for her to get up, and didn’t miss the reluctance from her and his parents as she did. He handed her the mug and settled down between them before patting his lap.

She shook her head, but quickly settled back down letting him wrap his arms around her waist. A moment later thin arms slipped around them from behind as Ultear leaned over the couch to embrace them, and finally Gray came around and settled at her feet, just barely resting against her calf, and holding up the bowl of ice cream for her.

Lyon sighed, realizing that she wouldn’t have enough hands for both, and reached out and took it for her, and then proceeded to spoon some ice cream onto the spoon and fed it to her.

He had to admit that despite all the pain she’d been through, seeing her like this, surrounded by love, eased the ache and the guilt he was feeling. His family wasn’t perfect, but they were good people, and his parents had no problem taking in lost children to love as their own.

It had never occurred to him before, just how much she probably longed for that love and support. Now she had it, and the fact that it came from his family warmed him. If nothing else good came out of his visit home that would be enough to make it worth the trip.


	16. Only If For A Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Gray and Juvia finally talk, and Matthew and Carol are finally explained and well, more late night shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I'm SO sorry, I will try to be better about getting updates out on time. You're all darling for putting up with me.

A cacophony of screaming children surrounded Juvia as she raced out the doors of her school, but she paid them no mind. Instead her eyes hunted through the crowd of parents before locking on her mother’s beaming smile. Strands of gold hair swirled across her face, and her pretty pink coat flowed around her.

Juvia had always thought she looked like a princess, beautiful and graceful, and Juvia longed to be like her.

She bounded forward, racing into her mom’s waiting arms, and was filled with a feeling of warmth and love. Her mother’s laugh echoed in her ears, and sounded like chiming bells. “Come on, we’ve gotta hurry and go get ready! We’re going on a trip little rain drop!”

Juvia giggled and cheered, and all at once she was being lifted into the air, snow was falling all around her and her dad was with them. He laughed and swung her around and her mother laughed with him. They danced in the snow lined streets and then huddled together on the front steps of the cathedral, surrounded by a million glowing candles. Slowly they started to fade and she was wrapped in warmth, and the soft hum of an engine lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

Tires screeched, and she felt as if she was falling, then bouncing. A loud scream echoed in her ears before she was brought to an abrupt stop with a loud crash. She woke up and blinked, everything was hazy, and her body felt heavy. Slowly, carefully she crawled forward, into the front of the car. There’s glass everywhere. Her hands were getting cut and the wind was like ice. She just wanted to see her mom, she needed to wake her up. Only, when she finally managed to get to the front seat it’s not her mom. Carol’s dark hair was splayed out around her and flecks of vomit covered her lips. Her breathing was extremely shallow and weak.

Juvia reached out and took her hand, squeezing. She got no response. “Carol?”

Juvia released her hand and shook her. “Carol, please, wake up! Carol!”

* * *

Juvia woke with her heart pounding against her chest, and tears streaming down her cheeks. She sat up, and wiped the tears away only to have them replaced by more. Her hands were shaking. She took a deep breath and slipped from the bed, and crept towards the door; heart in her throat. As she slipped out into the hall she could hear the faint sounds of the TV and a light from downstairs painted the hall in a pale glow.

She slowly made her way down on shaky legs, and stopped at the entrance to the living room. Juvia glanced into the room, knowing exactly who she’d find.

Gray was seated cross legged on the couch, figure illuminated by the glow from the TV, with a controller in hand.

He didn’t even glance up as he greeted her. “Yo. Sorry, I thought you might not come down after last night. Give me a minute and I’ll go put in the water.”

Juvia forced back a sob, and fought to hold in the fresh wave of grief that hit her. Her whole body trembled with the effort and she held herself tightly. A strangled whimper managed to escape her lips.

It was loud enough to catch Gray’s attention and he glanced over at her. He froze the instant he looked at her. “Juvia?”

She took a step back, slamming her eyes closed as she shook her head violently. She was better than this. She wasn’t a child anymore, nightmares didn’t reduce her to tears anymore. Or at least they shouldn’t. She was so tired of crying today.

“What’s wrong?”

She heard him shuffle on the couch and the sound of his feet hitting the floor.

“It’s nothing, just… just a nightmare. I’m fine.”

She heard him sigh. “But you don’t have to be.”

She looked back up then, finding he’d closed the distance between them and was now standing less than an arm’s length away.

His gaze was soft, and his hands were held up, stuck between a show of peace and an attempt to reach out to her. She so desperately wanted him to reach out then; to hug her the way Silver had, to hold her. But the memory of the night before screamed that it was a bad idea, that she was treading dangerous waters.

She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, and shook her head again.

Gray closed the distance anyways. His arms wrapped around her, and gently pulled her closer. She didn’t resist as he pressed her close, instead letting her head fall forward against his chest. It was a stiff hug, but he held her there despite his obvious discomfort.

Another wave of emotions washed over her, and she leaned into him, tears streaking down her face and dropping onto his chest. Her body trembled and his hands began stroking her back. He said nothing, but his body slowly relaxed into the motions, firm strokes became gentle caresses and he softened his stance, allowing her to mold to him.

His skin was warm to the touch and it surprised her because the house itself was cool. She snuggled closer as the tears started to subside, the chill in the air making her seek out the extra warmth.

Gray shifted backwards just a bit and Juvia moved with him, her weight carrying her forward at the unexpected lack of resistance and she stumbled slightly. Gray sighed and planted his hands on her shoulders straightening her as he pulled away. Juvia frowned, as he turned around and grabbed a soft fleece throw from the back of the couch, then came back and draped it over her shoulders. He didn’t meet her eyes, instead he fidgeted with the blanket, tugging it around until it covered her.

“Better?” he asked.

Juvia nodded.

“Good,” he replied with a nod. He continued looking about the room, as if searching for something.

Juvia bit down on her lip, feeling frustrated and awkward. One minute he was being a standoffish jerk, the next minute he was friendly enough, and then there were moments when he genuinely seemed to care about her. He’d been making her tea last night, and he’d been incredibly attentive all day, and all of that made her think that maybe she’d been wrong, and that last night wasn’t just some attempt to get her into bed with him. But now it felt like he was a world away and wanted nothing to do with her.

Another stream of tears streaked down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away, and sniffled, trying to prevent her nose from running.

Gray’s eyes flickered up to hers. His entire body loosened and he turned and grabbed the box of kleenex sitting on the coffee table and held it out for her. “Here.”

She took a couple tissues with a murmured "thanks” and wiped her face and blew her nose.

He nodded and grabbed a few more, and wiped his chest off.

“Sorry,” she said, a vibrant blush dusting her cheeks.

He shrugged his own cheeks going pink, as he averted his eyes. “Don’t worry about it.” He paused, brows furrowed as he crumpled up the tissues into a ball and squeezed them in his fist. He took a deep breath then locked eyes with her, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist with his free hand as he strode forward. “Come on.”

He didn’t explain further as he dragged her into the hall and towards the kitchen.

* * *

Juvia didn’t question Gray when he flicked on the kettle and ushered her to sit at the island. She even thought it was sweet when he pulled out the ice cream, but when he started spooning hot chocolate powder into both mugs she frowned. “Umm, I thought you were making tea.”

Gray turned and offered her a sheepish smile. “Not this time.” He poured a bit of milk into the mugs and stirred before pouring in the boiling water and mixing again. He grabbed a mug in one hand and a bowl in the other and brought them to her, placing them in front of her with a nervous smile. “This was always my tradition with my mom when I had a nightmare. She’d make me hot chocolate and ice cream.”

Gray returned to the counter and grabbed his own mug and bowl then settled on the stool next to her. His leg brushed against hers, and she felt a stirring of warmth, only to have him jerk away.

Juvia stared down at her mug, letting the warmth seep through her hands. It was sweet, him sharing this with her. He was still being awkward, but it felt more like he was just at a loss as to what to do.

“If you’d prefer tea, I’ll make you some. You don’t have to drink it, I just thought-”

“It’s fine. I like hot chocolate too, when it’s made right,” she said and smiled at him.

He let loose a nasally breath and his lips twitched into a little smirk. He looked really proud of himself. It was cute.

Juvia’s fingers fidgeted with the mug, tracing the handle and pressing against the sides, until the heat started to hurt then moving again. “Thank you.”

“For what? Letting you cry on me?” he teased.

“No,” Juvia said, and rolled her eyes, “for sharing your mom’s tradition with me.”

Gray smirked. “Yeah, well she said that chocolate helps pick up your mood; something about endorphins and all that. Figured it couldn’t hurt, and ice cream is hard to go wrong with, especially in your case. Honestly, I’ll do just about anything if it keeps the waterworks at bay.”

Juvia flinched. “Sorry.”

“Shit! No that’s not what I meant,” Gray huffed. His fingers flex and clenched. “It’s fine. Really, I don’t care. I’m just not great at dealing with it, that’s all. That’s always been Lyon’s department, it’s only since he’s been gone that I’ve had to really figure any of this stuff out, and Ultear constantly reminds me I’m shit at it.”

Juvia chuckled, and took a sip of the hot chocolate. It was still a little too hot, but it was rich and creamy just the way she liked. She hummed in approval.

Silence fell around them and Juvia found her thoughts drifting back to her nightmare from a more analytical point of view. It still hurt, reliving those moments, or at least the moments as her brain had interpreted them, but what she found odd was that her dream had shifted to Carol. Matthew had been on her mind a lot in the last few days, but she’d rarely spared her adopted mother much thought since their parting. She’d had nightmares for the first little while, while Carol was still in the hospital, but the trauma hadn’t lingered. It was weird thinking about her now. At the time she’d felt sympathetic, and concerned; now that she was older it was different. She’d been able to piece together a lot of what she hadn’t understood as a child and she felt a good deal of resentment towards the woman, and the people who’d let them adopt her. The only person who had been reluctant was Matthew. She’d once believed it was personal; that he hadn’t wanted her, rather than him just being realistic about the outcome.

“Sup?” Gray asked, nudging her shoulder.

“Hmm?” Juvia blinked at him, having missed what he said while in thought.

Gray sighed. “You look like something’s bothering you, just… if you wanna talk, I’ll listen.”

Juvia worried her lower lip and averted her gaze as she considered his offer. She hadn’t mentioned Matthew and Carol tonight. They were their own issue separate from her parents, and one that she was sometimes of two minds towards, especially where Carol was concerned.

“You don’t have to,” Gray amended, “just if you want to….”

“I’m thinking about my adopted parents,” Juvia supplied, peeking up at Gray from beneath her lashes, trying to gauge his reaction to the new information.

Gray furrowed his brows. “You mean your foster parents from the orphanage, or one of the people from before?”

Juvia shook her head. “No, I- look for the first four years I bounced around a lot. I wasn’t a bad kid, but I had a lot of issues and didn’t get along well with other kids. None of the foster homes were a good fit, and the orphanages weren’t any better so they kept relocating me. I don’t think I was even up for adoption. If I was, I would have been quickly written off, especially as I got older.”

Her fingers continued to trace the mug in her hands, running over the edges as she tried to explain the way things had been back then. It was hard, she’d been young and hadn’t always understood exactly what was going on.

“Eventually they settled me into a smaller orphanage and I tried to make it stick, and fit in. I also tried to be the kind of kid someone would want to adopt, only I was ten at that point so it was pretty much a lost cause. Then, when I was twelve, a miracle happened. A young couple was looking for an older kid to adopt, one that could help around the house and that would be okay traveling a lot and being home schooled. I was told the wife, Carol, was ill and needed help, and her husband, Matthew, traveled for work and he brought his wife with him, so their kid would need to travel too.“

"I was a perfect fit. Low maintenance, overly eager to please, I could cook, and clean and sew, and I hated school and kids so traveling and homeschooling sounded great. They even put me in therapy once a month, since they had couples therapy appointments. I know there were some concerns from the agency, but I was desperate for love and it seemed like they were straight out of a fairy tale and made for me, so I pushed for it to go through as well.” Juvia took a moment to breathe and let Gray absorb some of what she’d said.

He was staring at her intently a sad look in his eyes. “I’m guessing it ended up being too good to be true.”

Juvia nodded. “Eventually, yeah, it was. But for the first year….” She took a deep breath and a small smile formed on her lips. “For the first little while they were pretty good. Carol spent all of her time doting on me and spoiled me like crazy. Matthew was a little less affectionate, and at first I thought he wasn’t happy with me but later on he admitted later that Carol was the one that wanted a kid, and that he’d agreed, hoping it would save their marriage, but that he didn’t really think their life was really suited to having a child. That was a large part of why they wanted an older child, it was a compromised. Still he was always nice.”

She took another sip of her hot chocolate and ate a spoonful of ice cream. It felt weird talking about them like that. Thinking back, she’d missed so many warning signs. But that’s why they said hindsight was twenty twenty.

“So what happened? Why did it change?” Gray prompted, shoving a huge spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

“Well, I guess the first sign of trouble was when Christmas came. We were supposed to go on this amazing vacation to Caelum. They wanted to take me away so I didn’t have to deal with all the holiday stuff; only Carol got sick a few weeks before, and had to be hospitalized.”

Gray frowned and stiffened, concern mapped across his features.

“Matthew wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, or let me visit her. He said he didn’t want to upset me, but I found out later that wasn’t the real reason for it.”

“So what was?” Gray asked.

“I couldn’t visit because she wasn’t in the hospital, she was in rehab. Her illness was a drug addiction. I got the impression it was pretty bad at one point, hard drugs and stuff, but she’d been clean for almost two years when they went to adopt me.”

“Well I can understand the reluctance to let them.”

Juvia nodded. “Yeah, I get it now. It also had to do with the fact that Matthew had cheated on her, and they were worried about the stability of the marriage.”

Gray winced. “So not an ideal family.”

Juvia shook her head. “No, and most of it wasn’t things they were willing to explain to me, not that I would have really understood. When it all went down I didn’t really get it, I’ve kinda had to piece a lot of it together since then.”

Gray nodded, “Makes sense…. So, she was in rehab, what happened?”

“Well, she wasn’t in there for more than a few weeks, but Matthew was exhausted. Between work and getting her situated, he wasn’t around much. I was sad. I missed Carol, the house was lonely and too quiet and my nightmares and emotional outburst were getting worse. I spent every day cleaning from top to bottom to stay busy, but one night when he got home I was just prepping dinner and he told me to just put it all away. Said I needed to take a break, he ordered in Chinese and we ended up watching horror movies all night until I passed out in his arms on the couch.”

Juvia grinned at the memory. “I’m pretty sure my therapist had said something to him, but still, it was nice. We spent most of the holiday’s just holed up at home, he taught me different cooking recipes, and we watched every campy horror movie we could and well… we bonded. We talked, and I think for the first time he actually started to accept that I was his kid. Started treating me like I was.”

Gray looked at her, concern written on his face. He sighed and slipped his hand over top of hers. “Sounds great, but you said that’s where things started to go wrong, so I’m just, I’m a bit lost.”

Juvia bit her lip. “I think Carol was jealous.”

“Of you?” Gray asked in disbelief.

Juvia shook her head. “Of Matthew. I don’t think Carol was really all that invested in making their relationship work, I don’t know if she ever really got over him cheating on her. I honestly think I was more of a distraction than anything. Something she had that was hers, someone who loved her and paid attention to her. But Matthew was amazing, and we had a lot in common and I just- I enjoyed hanging out with him.”

“Gotcha.” Gray said. “So she comes back to find out you two bonded and doesn’t take it well.”

“No, definitely not. They fought more, she started to bring up his infidelity, she told me about it, for sympathy I guess, and I mean, I did. I just, I didn’t know how to really respond to it. I was angry at first, but he took me out one day for a drive, Carol was at a retreat, and we talked. He apologised to me, even though I had nothing to do with it. He seemed to really regret his choices, and he admitted that it was wrong, but well… he also explained a bit about how he’d been feeling, and I just… I couldn’t hate him. I knew what he did was terrible, but I kinda understood too, that it wasn’t all him.”

“So what happened? I’m guessing they didn’t really last much longer, but that doesn’t explain why you were sent back. I mean, if they both cared about you one of them could have kept you right?”

Juvia’s smile faltered. She stared down at the mug and bit her lip. She wasn’t exactly sure how to answer that. For the longest time that was how she felt, that if Matthew had truly cared about her he would have made it work, he would have let her stay. But over the years she’d realized that he’d had his reasons, the same way he’d had his reasons for cheating on Carol. It didn’t make it hurt any less, but she could understand.

Juvia took a deep breath. “I thought so, at the time, but I really didn’t understand a lot of what was going on. I had no idea Carol had OD’d on painkillers. I found her on afternoon, barely breathing on the floor and lying in vomit. I called 9-1-1 and from there it just all slowly fell apart.”

Juvia looked up at Gray, and she felt her throat constrict as she forced the next words out. “You know, she actually promised to come get me. Said that once she was feeling better she’d come for me and we’d be together again. I don’t know if she changed her mind, or if she just never managed to get clean, but obviously it never happened. Truthfully I’m kinda glad for it now. It hurt at the time but…. I think she was even more broken than I was.”

Gray nodded, his fingers brushed the back of her hand and Juvia felt her hairs stand on end.

“Matthew was the hard one, he was the one who ended up taking me back, and I begged and pleaded for him not to. For the longest time I hated him all over again, but the more I think about it now, the more I understand his reasoning. He wasn’t stable, his job involved regular travel and long hours, and sure, he could have maybe changed that, but he loved his job. And for me to stay, it would have been exactly like that first Christmas. I would have been lonely, no matter how much I want to believe otherwise.”

Gray sighed, and his arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her towards him. Her head hit his shoulder and he turned letting her rest against his chest as his arm stroked her side. It was a bit awkward, but the gesture was appreciated. “I don’t know, maybe you’re right, but it still sucks that he left you.”

Juvia nodded against his chest. “I know.” She sighed. “I was angry for a long time, but I guess I’m more just afraid to go through it again. I stopped caring when I was sent back, I lashed out more because I didn’t want to go through that again. It’s hard getting a taste of something normal then being told you can’t have it.”

Gray pulled away and looked down at her, meeting her gaze. “I get that, but, just know that no matter what, we’re here okay? You’ve got us, and you don’t have to give that up.”

Juvia blushed, but nodded.

Gray broke out into a smile. “Good. Now finish your ice cream, and then we can go binge on horror movies until you’re ready for sleep.”

It took her a minute to process exactly what he’d just said, but once she did, she found herself grinning uncontrollably.

For the first time in a long time she genuinely felt like she was home.

* * *

When they wandered back into the living room Gray promptly took a seat on the far side of the couch. Juvia, paused for a moment before heading towards the loveseat. Just as she was about to sit down Gray patted the couch cushion beside him, a silent invitation for her to join him.

She hesitated, the night before still fresh in her mind.

Gray seemed to sense the source of her hesitation and offered a rye smile. “Come on, sit down, I promise to keep my lips to myself this time,” he teased.

Juvia pursed her lips, finding the situation a little less funny than Gray did.

He rolled his eyes in response. “Seriously, relax. I got the message, trust me. Besides, the last thing I need is to piss off Lyon. Though, after tonight, I highly doubt I can do much worse.”

“Gray….” Juvia chastised.

“What? It’s true, I’m pretty sure you heard him screaming earlier.”

“Yeah, I did,” Juvia admitted, folding her arms under her chest. “But I’m sure it’s not the first time he’s lost it on you like that. Maybe it’s not so bad?”

“Oh trust me, it’s bad.”

“What happened?”

Gray threaded a hand through his hair. "You don’t want to know.”

“I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Gray sighed.  "That’s the thing, I don’t know if you can help me on this one. I mean, he was super pissed and had been for years, and the worst part is he had every right to be.“

Juvia frowned and sat down on the edge of the couch beside him. Her hand reached out and took his giving it a small squeeze.

Gray scrubbed his face with his other hand.” It’s just– all this time I thought that he was the one that didn’t want me, turns out I was the one who pushed him away. I was the one who started all of this.“

Juvia sighed and leaned into Gray’s side, resting her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, you did, but that was one moment. You’ve been making progress with him. He was genuinely happy to go out with you tonight, and I think that’s because deep down he still wants that relationship with you.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Gray grumbled

“Yeah, well, he’s stubborn and you hurt him. So it’s like I keep saying; you need to work at it.”

Gray nodded and fell back against the couch with a huff, causing Juvia to fall forward a bit before she caught herself, by planting her hand between his legs. Any slower and she would have landed face first in his lap.

Gray chuckled. “Sorry.”

Juvia shot him a glare and he grin down smugly at her. She righted herself, maintaining her glare.

There was a moment of silence between them before Gray gave her a contemplative look. His smile dropped and he began fidgeting with his hands. “So, can I ask you something?”

Juvia was wary of the sudden shift in his demeanor, but she nodded her accent anyways.

“Why didn’t you tell Lyon about last night?”

Juvia tensed. She should have assumed that question would come, but the truth was she’d thought the answer was obvious. “The last thing you two need is one more reason to fight, and I thought he’d been through enough emotional turmoil the night before, and I’d rather not have to pick up the pieces all over again.”

Gray studied her, before nodding, seeming satisfied with her answer. “Well, thanks I guess.” He reached up and threaded his hands behind his head resting them against the back of the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. “I’ve got no idea why you keep helping me, but it’s appreciated. Sherry hated my guts.”

“I just want him to be happy. He and I are a lot alike, we aim to please and can’t stand disappointment, but we forget to ask what people are really expecting of us.” She said and pulled her legs to her chest. “We just assume things based off previous experiences and forget that people grow and change. I think he’s really lucky to have you all, and he’s just too wrapped up in himself to notice that.”

Gray scoffed. “Yeah, well, he tends to think the world revolves around him.”

Juvia frowned. “He’s not the only one guilty of that.”

Gray raised an eyebrow and stared down at her.

Juvia stared back, waiting for him to back down.

It didn’t take long, he quickly averted his gaze. “Whatever. You might have a point there.”

“Of course I do.”

Gray rolled his eyes but smiled at her. “So, waddya wanna watch?” He asked, pulling up Netflix on the tv.

Juvia thought about it before shrugging. “Something old? I’m not much for the new gore porn style of horror.”

“Not a fan of blood and guts?”

“It doesn’t bother me,” she said. “I just don’t find it scary, gross sure, but not scary.”

“That’s fair.” He scrolled through several films before stopping on an image of a black background and an outline of a green egg. “Feel like a marathon?”

Juvia grinned. “Definitely.”

Gray selected the movie and fluffed up a throw pillow and shoved it against the arm of the couch before leaning back into it.

Juvia went to shift down to the other end, so they could have a bit more room when Gray sat up and caught her wrist. A light blush dusted his cheeks.

Juvia paused and met his gaze, waiting for him to explain. Instead they sat in silence as the opening to the movie played in the background.

“Umm, Gray?” She prompted.

“Look,” he started, glancing away, “I- I know I fucked up last night. I really didn’t mean to hit on you like that, I just- I don’t even know. It’s been like a year and I swear I just wanted to be there for you. Make you tea, make sure you’re okay, and I just got caught up in the moment. I get it, I fucked up, and I won’t blame you if you’d rather keep your distance, but….”

He trailed of and shifted uncomfortably.

“But?”

Gray shrugged and his eyes flickered to meet hers. “If you ever didn’t want to keep your distance, it wouldn’t happen again.”

Juvia blinked and her brows furrowed in confusion. That was a really convoluted way to tell her he wanted her to cuddle, or at least, she was pretty sure that’s what he was trying to say. She really couldn’t tell for sure, and that made her nervous.

“You believe me, right?” Gray asked, fixing her with a pleading look.  

Juvia stared at him in shock. For a moment it felt like there was more to that plea, the forwardness of it had a desperate tinge and she wanted to believe that he liked her too. That he cared for her as more than just a friend.   
  
Juvia sighed, reminding herself that she wasn’t here to get involved with Gray. She did believe him though, she’d seen proof that he wanted to support her all day. She wasn’t really sure what had motivated his kiss last night, or what might have happened if she’d let it, but she truly believed that Gray meant what he said. She offered him a small smile. “Yeah, yeah I know.”

He let out a breath and leaned back again. His hands carded through his hair and he stared up at the ceiling. “Good. Good, I’m glad.”

She smiled, and, feeling a little brave she leaned forward and settled herself between him and the back of the couch. He tensed a little, then shifted over a bit to make room for her. He grabbed another throw pillow and placed it on his chest for her to rest her head on, then draped a blanket over them. His arm wrapped around her waist once she’d settled.

It was nice. She felt warm and safe, and it reminded her a bit of that first year with Matthew.

Pages rustled on the TV and Juvia smiled, and nuzzled against him. This was the perfect way to end her day.


	17. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can say is I have some of the best readers ever. Seriously so many of you reached out and just sent me some love and I can’t thank you enough. So as a way of saying thanks, I’m currently just finishing up chapter 19 and the next chapter the Christmas party kicks off, so I wanted to ask you all if there’s any character cameos you’d like to see, or maybe something funny/fluffy you’d like to see happen. I can’t promise all of them will make their way into the next chapter but I’ve got New Years Eve to write as well so let me know. Characters, Christmas tropes, small ships. I’ll see what I can cook up. ;)

“Silver, what are you doing?” Ur hissed.

The sounds of shuffling feet followed, and Juvia frowned and nuzzled deeper into the warmth beneath her, pulling the blanket up to block out some of the light. She was exhausted and not nearly ready to wake up.

She recognized the distinct click of a phone camera coming from the direction Ur’s voice had. Somewhere to the left.

“Don’t take pictures of them.” Ur continued to reprimand him in a harsh whisper.

“But They look so cute, when am I ever gonna get a chance to catch Gray like this again?” Silver cooed, his own voice kept low as well.

Juvia wanted to turn around, to move away from the noise, but she was tightly sandwiched in her place. One eye flickered open and she took in Silver and Ur standing in the doorway whispering to one another, and then she looked down and became aware of the bare chest her head was resting on. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she pieced together exactly where she was.

She slammed her eyes shut again and tried to even her breathing in an effort not to bring attention back to herself.

“Well you got your picture, now we should wake them up before Lyon gets up and sees this.” Ur said.

“Oh come on, let them sleep,” Silver replied.

“Are you crazy?”

Juvia’s heart hammered at Ur’s words. Ur was right, Lyon would flip out. How late was it?

How much time did she have?

“Ur it’s barely seven, Lyon’s gonna be asleep for at least another few hours, and Juvia’s got to be exhausted. She probably didn’t sleep well last night and that’s why she ended up back down here.” Silver rationalized.

Juvia let out a long breath, feeling herself relax.

“Down here, on a couch, with Gray. They could have slept on separate couches. Why are they cuddled up together like that?” Ur demanded, her voice raising a little.

Gray stirred slightly beneath Juvia, and his arms tightened about her waist. He didn’t move though, and his heartbeat and breathing were still deep and steady. Juvia envied him a bit for his ability to sleep through this.

“I think you’re overreacting a bit,” silver said. “They’re both clothed and Netflix is still running on the TV. They just fell asleep watching movies. Nothing sinister is going on”

Ur sighed. “I guess, it just feels weird that she’s here with Gray and not Lyon.”

“Yeah, well, Lyon isn’t exactly easy to wake up, and I highly doubt she came looking for gray, he was probably just here when she came down.”

There was a pause in their conversation and some shuffling but Juvia kept her eyes closed, not wanting them to know she’d been listening.

“Look, we’ll let them sleep till nine. I’m pretty sure Juvia will be up by then and if they’re not then we’ll wake them.”

“Okay, I suppose you’re right this time.” Ur conceded

“Can I get that in writing?”

“Don’t push your luck,” Ur chuckled.

“C'mon. I’ll make you coffee.” Silver said

Their feet padded away, growing distant along with their voices.

Juvia forced her eye open and confirmed they were no longer present. She tried to will herself to sit up, or even open her other eye, but she was warm and comfortable. The pillow she’d been using had disappeared, and her neck was a little crooked but the steady sound of Gray’s heartbeat acted as a lullaby.

Her eyes dropped and she struggled to reopen them. She ought to get up. She knew it would be in her best interest, but she didn’t want to move, and the knowledge that silver would wake should she sleep too late made it all the more enticing.

Just one more hour, she hadn’t slept well for most of the week and it was catching up with her. Another hour, just to help keep her lucid.

She shifted and snuggled deeper, moving her head to a slight more comfortable place.

Gray hummed and his arms tightened again as she shifted, holding her close. His heartbeat thumped in her ear, her eyes closed and she felt her body relaxing again as she drifted of.

She’d get up soon. Just one more hour.

* * *

Juvia found herself drifting in and out of consciousness. She was aware the room was bright with light filtering in through the window, and of the muffled sounds coming from the kitchen. Mostly she was aware of Gray. Of the sounds of his breath and heartbeat, of the warmth of his skin pressed against her, of the faded woodsy smell of, what she assumed was, his cologne.

It was these things that keep her from truly waking. They lulled her back in every time she tried to will herself awake and off the couch.

Her eyes were closing and she was losing the battle for wakefulness yet again when she felt a staccato vibration right against her stomach.

Her eyes shot open and she lifted herself up and away from the buzzing as Gray stirred and squirmed, his hand sliding down between them to reach for his pocket.

He frowned as his hand brushed against her and blearily opened his eyes, blinking up at her.

She watched as his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a brilliant red as he seemed to clue into their positions.

Her own cheeks felt warm, and she found herself running a hand through her tangled mess of hair, in an attempt to tame it into something remotely presentable. Why that hadn’t occurred to her sleep addled brain before now was a mystery she was cursing.

Another round of vibrations pulse between them, and she looked down to where his hand was frozen in his pyjama pocket. “Aren’t you gonna get that?”

“Right!” Gray jerked his hand out of his pants, fumbling the phone as he attempted to receive it before the call ended.

He finally managed to get a hold of it and swiped his finger over the lock screen, then brought his phone to his ear. “Yo,” he greeted.

Juvia was surprised when she heard the the voice that responded.

“Fuck, were you still sleeping?” Gajeel asked.

Gray blinked and pulled the phone down just enough for them both to see Gajeel’s name written across the top of the screen. Gray frowned before hesitantly returning the phone to his ear. “Uh, yeah….”

Gray paused and waited, but got no reply. “So, what’s up?”

There was another long pause before Gajeel sighed. “I’ve been tryin’ to get a hold of Juv’s but she’s not answering her phone, neither’s Lyon. Just wanted to check in; make sure she was holdin’ up. I was hoping you might actually be up and know where they’re at.”

Gray glanced at Juvia. “She’s fine, actually. She’s right here if you wanna talk to her.”

Juvia felt her stomach drop.

“What?!” Gajeel screamed.

Gray jerked the phone away from his ear and winced in pain.

“Why the hell is she there with you?” Gajeel’s voice boomed.

Juvia grabbed the phone before Gray could protest or think to respond with anything else incriminating. “Calm down, and stop screaming. You’re freaking out over nothing.”

“Nothing!” Gajeel crowed. “I try calling you and get no answer, and then I call Gray and find out you’re just waking up with him. How the fuck is that nothing.”

Juvia rolled her eyes.

Gray is staring at her, white as a sheet and wide eyed with panic, clearly having finally caught up and realized what what he’d said had implied.

“It’s nothing, because whatever you’ve cooked up in your head isn’t what happened. We just passed out together, on the living room couch I might add, so get your head out of the gutter.”

“That doesn’t mean shit with you. You honestly expect me to believe the living room couch is off limits to you? You, the girl Jose caught fooling around on the kitchen counter.” Gajeel sneered.

Juvia’s cheek flushed bright red, as Gray raised an eyebrow at her. Clearly he heard that. She smacked her palm over her face and attempted to breath through the embarrassment and fought for calm in order to dissuade Gajeel.

“Clearly not, but I’m telling you nothing happened. I woke up from a nightmare, I came downstairs, Gray was down here watching movies, we talked, had some hot chocolate and ice cream, then proceeded to watch the Aliens trilogy and passed out at some point. That’s it, that’s all,” Juvia said through gritted teeth.

“You had a nightmare? What about?” Gajeel asked, quickly switching gears with this new information.

Juvia hesitated, glanced at Gray before swallowing down her anxiety. There was no point in backing down now, it was time to just lay it all on the line. “About my mom and dad, that night and then the accident. Only it switched to Carol when I tried crawling into the front seat. She was passed out from ODing and I couldn’t wake her up.”

Gray’s hand found hers, and gave it a small squeeze of reassurance, and she squeezed his back.

There was a long pause on Gajeel’s end before he let out a long sigh. She could almost picture him scrubbing his face with his hand. “Shit. That sucks. You okay?”

“Yeah, it sucked, but I’m doing alright. Like I said, Gray was up and he looked after me. Made sure I had lots of sugar and then willingly watched horror movies with me as a distraction so I’m good.”

“Well good. I’m glad someone was there for ya. Gihihi, It was a good choice, going and seeking him out instead of just waking Lyon up.” Gajeel teased.

Juvia rolled her eyes at the insinuation, and glared at the couch cushion in his absence. She could feel Gray’s eyes on her, and see the smirk playing on his lips out of the corner of her eye. “It wasn’t like that. I came downstairs and he was already there. Not much I could do about it.”

Gray scoffed and leaned back against the armrest, crossing his arms over his chest and pouted.

Gajeel chuckled knowingly. “Uh huh, sure.”

Juvia felt the heat returning to her cheeks and a quick glance at Gray let her know he’d noticed the change. She bit her lip and shifted positions, pulling her legs out from under her and letting them drape over his and onto the coffee table. “Whatever. So when are you getting here?”

The self satisfied smirk was back on Gray’s lips and she shot him a quick glare to express her disapproval.

“Uh, yeah, about that. That’s actually why I’m calling. Listen, Levy’s grandma has invited us to lunch, and we’ve tried getting out of it, but-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Juvia interjected with confidence, despite feeling the initial pangs of disappointment. She took a deep breath and shoved them down, waiting as the line continued to remain silent.

Finally, Gajeel spoke up. “You know it ain’t that easy.”

Juvia sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know it isn’t, but I swear I’ll be okay. It’s not that bad, and everyone here knows at this point so I’m in good hands. No one’s gonna push for anything today, and I’m sure once Lyon’s up I’ll be coddled for the rest of the day, so go to her grandma’s thing. I get it, I’m not upset. A little disappointed, but I can get over it. Just means you’re coming later right?”

“Yeah, we’ll still be there. I’ll grab the pizza on the way,” Gajeel said

“So then we’re good.”

“Yeah, I guess we’re good. Not that I have much of a choice.”

“Nope, you really don’t. Don’t want to be the boy that made her skip her grandmother’s on Christmas.”

Gajeel scoffed. “Yeah wouldn’t want that.” There was another pause before he spoke up again. “Hey, put Gray back on the phone, will ya?”

“Sure….” Juvia slowly relinquished the phone, holding it out for Gray to take.

He grabbed it and she scooched closer, determined to listen in, in case Gajeel decided Gray still needed an earful about them sleeping next to each other.

“Sup?” Gray greeted, glancing at Juvia questioningly as she perched beside him.

“Listen Fullbuster, I need a favour,” Gajeel started.

Gray raised an eyebrow and glanced at the phone warily. “Uh, okay…. Shoot.”

“Look after Juvia for me today,” Gajeel instructed.

Gray blinked and glanced back up at Juvia. He only hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, of course. You got it.”

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him, but Gray had already looked away and was sitting up on the couch. He stretched briefly before tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder, and stood up, heading towards the desk in the far right corner. “So anything I should know?”

Juvia blinked, she was tempted to follow him, so that she could know exactly what Gajeel would list but froze as she watched Gray fish out a pad of paper and grab a pen. She frowned, feeling like he might be taking the whole thing a little overboard. But at the same time it was kinda sweet.

His brows were furrowed in concentration as he jotted down a few things and would nod along to whatever it was Gajeel was saying. Finally he grabbed the phone back in his hand and looked over the list once more. “I think I got it all. We’ll see you when you guys get here. Yeah. Kay. Bye.”

Gray hit the end call button and stuffed his phone back in his pocket before turning back to face her. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back for a moment before letting it go and having it fall back across his forehead.

Juvia waited for him to say something, but the silence stretched between them, as they continued to stare at each other. Finally she swallowed and let a small smile curl up onto her lips and uttered a simple “thanks”

After all, for all that she thought he might have gone overboard in making a list of need-to-know’s in order to take care of her, it was nice to know that he cared about her, and that he wanted to look after her.

Gray shrugged, averting his gaze, but a small smirk tugged at his lips. “Well, as you kinda pointed out, I shouldn’t just do someone a favour cause I know they’ll return it. I should do it because it’s the right thing to do, So I’m trying that out.”

Juvia frowned, trying to remember exactly when she said something like that. It sounded a little bitter to her now, though she supposed it was true. It took a moment before it clicked. The argument in the food court finally coming back to her, and her rebuke of Gray’s lack of action towards Lyon.

It surprised her that he remembered that, and more importantly that he took it to heart. She’d been really harsh towards him that day, and he could have easily taken something negative from her rebuke. Most people would have. Instead, he understood exactly what she was trying to say, and was now seeking to prove he’d gotten the message.

She smiled at him brightly.

Gray smiled back and reached out, offering her his hand. “Come on, let’s go get you a tea and some breakfast.”

Juvia placed her hand in his, blushing as she did, and let him pull her up off the couch and into the kitchen to join his family.

* * *

When Lyon woke to an empty bed there had been a moment of panic. He’d been hoping to wake up with Juvia, and bring her tea in bed, to have a moment to talk about how she was feeling and just plan their day. Of course, he hadn’t communicated that to her so he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that she’d gotten up and gone downstairs ahead of him. He didn’t expect her to sit up there waiting for him to wake up, but he had hoped that maybe she would have woken him up.

He quickly put aside his own feelings and headed out into the bathroom to quickly fix his hair and wash his face before heading downstairs. He paused at Gray’s door, frowning over the fact that it was ajar, meaning Gray was already up. That in itself was odd, because Gray usually stayed up until all hours of the morning and normally had to be dragged out of bed, but it was also the second morning in a row he was awake before Lyon.

A small part of him hoped that maybe Gray had gone out to another friends, but he had a feeling he knew what had caused Gray to get up early. His step-brother’s attentiveness to Juvia bothered Lyon, and not just because he was worried about them hooking up if there was a mutual interest. Lyon was starting to realise that he felt a bit jealous of the way they were connecting.

Which was ridiculous, absurd, and completely irrational. There was no reason for him to be jealous, he was Juvia’s best friend, he’d known her longer. No matter what, Gray wasn’t going to just come in and take that away from him. And yet, that’s what he felt. It’s what drove him to lash out last night.

He took a deep breath, and soaked the washcloth with cold water, before wiping it over his face. The cold helped clear his mind and bring him back into focus. He needed to get a hold of himself, and shelve it; at least for the day.

Taking a deep breath he steeled himself, and headed downstairs. He froze in the doorway leading to the kitchen, as he realized his entire family was already congregated there.

Silver was cooking, and his mom was perched on a stool to the left of the stove, nursing a cup of coffee and supervising.

Gray was to his right, and much to Lyon’s shock, was chopping vegetables according to Juvia’s instructions. Or at least, he was trying to.

Juvia let out a huff of frustration and reached over to grab the knife only to have Gray swat her hand away.

“Stop it, Gajeel said you’re not allowed to cook today. You’re supposed to be relaxing,” Gray said, before returning to slicing the red pepper in front of him.

“I am relaxing, you’re just not doing it right-”

“I’m chopping vegetables, how can I do that wrong? They’re cut into tiny pieces that’s what’s supposed to happen,” Gray complained.

“They’re not even,” Juvia protested.

“So?”

“So they’re supposed to be. It’s not that hard, just let me show you.” Again Juvia reached for the knife, only to have Gray hold it out of reach.

Lyon frowned at the scene.

Juvia was clinging to Gray attempting to reach the knife, and he was holding her around the waist to keep her from being able to reach any higher. There was a stupid smirk on his face as she struggled against him, and he couldn’t help but feel like Juvia was just being playful, rather than actually frustrated.

It made something in the pit of his stomach churn and twist.

Ultear appeared beside him, having left her place by the coffee maker, and handed him a cup of coffee. “You look pissed.”

Lyon grunted his assent.

Finally Silver grabbed the knife from Gray’s hand. “That’s enough of that, you’re gonna hurt someone if you keep it up.”

“He’s right, Juvia just sit down, we’ll live with uneven vegetables for a day, you can show him tomorrow,” Ur said.

Gray grinned triumphantly as Juvia fell back onto her stool, and stuck his tongue out at her, causing Juvia to pout in response. He was about to go back to chopping when his eyes locked on Lyon and he froze.

Juvia followed his gaze and blushed when she saw Lyon. Her eyes darted between the two of them nervously.

“Ah, look who’s finally gotten up and decided to grace us with his presence,” Silver teased, flashing Lyon a brilliant grin.

“Good morning sweet heart. Did you sleep okay?” Ur ask.

Juvia seemed to recover herself, and was quick to hop off her stool and come greet him with a hug. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders. “Hey, good morning.”

Despite the storm of unpleasant emotions trying to surge up within him, Lyon couldn’t help but smile and hug her back. He pulled her close and held her a little too tightly, for a little too long. “Morning,” he murmured, pulling back a bit to smiled down at her. “You should have woken me up. I’ve missed precious doting time. Do you need a refill on your tea?”

“Um, sure,” Juvia replied, letting him go.

He noticed the reluctance to do so, as well as the nervous look on her face, as her eyes shifted back to the kitchen island. His eyes followed her gaze, and found Gray and his parents looking equally uncomfortable. He turned back to her, and cocked his head to the side. “What’s up? I feel like I’m missing something.”

Juvia licked her lips and took a deep breath. Her hands wrung together in front of her. “Well, it’s just-” she paused, and looked up at him, meeting his gaze. He could see the fear gathering in her eyes.

He turned back towards her and placed his hands over hers, stilling the fidgeting. He gave her a light squeeze of reassurance, and nodded for her to continue.

“I’m sorry I didn’t wake you. I know I should have, it’s just, I ended up passing out on the couch last night, and so I was already down here, and-”

“Juvia it’s fine, I was just teasing,” Lyon said, attempted to halt her rambling. He offered her another smile to ease her worry.

Juvia bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot.

Lyon sighed and brushed his thumb across her knuckles. “Something else?”

She took another deep breath and held it. “I ended up passing out on the couch with Gray,” she announced in a rush.

Lyon froze as the words sank in. He stared down at her, and that awful feeling returned ten fold. He dropped her hands and straightened. He could feel all eyes in the room on him, tense and waiting for his reaction. “Oh.”

Juvia’s eyes widened, and she stepped forward placing a hand over his. “Nothing happened. I swear, we were just watching horror films, and I was exhausted, and we must have just passed out. I swear. I only came down because I had a nightmare and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

Lyon’s head whipped up to stare at her. “You had a nightmare?”

Juvia bit her lip and nodded.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? Was it about your family?” Lyon demanded.

Ultear rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Juvia’s shoulder. “Dude, breathe, give her a chance to answer.”

Lyon took a breath and nodded.

“I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up, I wasn’t really thinking, and you’re not exactly easy to wake. I just headed downstairs hoping to get a cup of tea. And I’ll tell you about the dream later okay? You’re just waking up and I’m trying not to think about it to be honest.” Juvia said. Her hand fell from his and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Ultear rubbed circles into her back, and Juvia let out a shaky breath.

Lyon forced himself to relax, and let the tension out of his body. “Okay, that’s fair.” He paused then added a “sorry” for good measure.

Juvia shook her head. “Don’t be, I get it.”

He nodded and forced a smile to his lips. The gnawing feeling had subsided a little, though it still itched and tingled, reminding him he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of Juvia sleeping next to Gray, but he decided to put it aside. Today wasn’t about him, it was about her. He shouldn’t make too big of a deal out of Gray comforting her, especially if he wasn’t there to do it himself.

He took a breath. “So tea refill?”

Juvia smiled at him and nodded. “Please.”

He smiled back, and this time it felt genuine. He grabbed her mug from the island and carried it towards the kettle and hit the button to get it to boil.

Ultear leaned against the counter beside him pouring herself another cup of coffee. She shot him a look, and Lyon frowned, unsure exactly what he’d done to piss her off, but she quickly looked away, and returned to watching the rest of their family as she sipped on her coffee.

Juvia sat back down next to Gray, but instead of returning her attention to him as well, she turned to smile at Lyon.

Tension lingered in the air for a moment, before Silver elbowed Gray. “Hop back to it, those vegetables aren’t going to chop themselves. And be quick about it, you gotta keep up.”

Gray rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his lips as the room filled with laughter, and a few jeers. Even Lyon joined in, taking the free shot while he could. Everyone settled back comfortably and Lyon soon joined Juvia by her side.

It wasn’t an ideal start to his day, but he’d had worse. There was still plenty of time to dote on Juvia and he wasn’t going to miss another minute of it worrying about Gray.

* * *

Lyon’s fork clattered against his plate, and he leaned back rubbing his overly full stomach. “Mmm lunch was amazing Dad.”

“Definitely one of your better meals, even if the peppers and onions weren’t very uniform,” Ultear teased, grinning in Gray’s direction.

Gray glared back at her. “I’d like to see you do better.”

“Now, now. Can you not start? It’s been a relatively peaceful meal for once.” Ur said.

Ultear shrugged, and Gray sighed, but nodded.

Juvia hummed in contentment and reached for Lyon’s plate.

Lyon swatted the back of her hand before she could grab it, causing her to frown at him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked.

Juvia rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Clearing the plates?”

Lyon shook his head and gave her his best disapproving mom look. “You know you’re not supposed to do that.”

"Seriously? I can manage clearing some plates and putting them in a dishwasher, I’m not that fragile,” Juvia complained.

“Nope, Lyon’s right,” Gray interjected. “Gajeel said absolutely no chores, and that’s a chore.”

“But-”

“You heard him, Gajeel’s orders.” Lyon grinned at her, and chuckled when she glared back at him, before starting to collect the plates.

Before he could take them into the kitchen Gray had hopped up and was coming around the table. “I got it, you keep an eye on her.”

Lyon quirked an eyebrow at him, but handed the plates over. It was more than a little obvious that Gray was trying to curry favour, Lyon just couldn’t figure out if it was with Juvia or him. It made sense that Gray might be acting out of guilt, and part of him wanted to believe that maybe Gray meant it when he said he was trying to make amends; but another part of him caught the way Gray looked at Juvia, saw how attentive he was to her needs, and knew that there was something more going on there.

It’s was weird though, being around both of them, it was easy to slip into friendly banter and forget about everything else. It was easy to work alongside Gray where Juvia was concerned instead of constantly butting heads.

Lyon reached out and threaded his fingers through Juvia’s as he continued to contemplate the complexities of their little dynamic with Gray, while she chatted with Silver, Ur and Ultear.

Once Gray was seated back at the table Ur straightened, and cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Alright, it’s time to get down to business, the party is tomorrow and there’s still way too much that needs to be done so I’m going to need you kids to help out. Silver and I are going out to pick up food and supplies. While we’re gone I was hoping the rest of you could handle decorating the house and the tree.”

Ultear groaned and laid her head down on her forearms, one hand gestured loosely between Gray and Lyon. “Ask your sons, that’s usually their job.”

Gray and Lyon both shrunk under Ur’s scrutiny, but hesitated to commit themselves to helping, instead glancing warily towards Juvia.

Ur let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. “She doesn’t need both of you playing mother hen, I’m sure one will suffice.”

Lyon had to admit, he was eager to decorate the tree and help with the decorating. It had always been his favourite part of the year, but another quick glance at Juvia and he knew he needed to sit this one out. “Sorry Mom, I promised Juvia I’d spend the day with her as payment for going out to Magnolia last night, so you’re stuck with Gray.”

Ur rolled her eyes at his comment, but he could see her fighting back a smile. “That’s fine, Gray’s actually done just fine the last two years. I’m sure it’ll be beautiful, and I’ll be happy so long as it gets done.”

Gray puffed up at little at the praise, but his eyes lingered on Juvia.

Lyon wrapped his arm about her shoulder and pulled her close, locking eyes with Gray from across the table in the process.

Gray held his gaze for a moment, and Lyon thought he might argue about the arrangement, but the moment passed and he deflated, turning to Ur. “No worries, I’ve got it covered, at least it means we won’t have to live in some tacky green and red hallmark card for the next couple of weeks.

Lyon scoffed, and shot a glare at Gray. "Uh huh, cause there’s a lot of other options right?”

Gray just rolled his eyes and got up, heading through the kitchen, towards the mud room to fish out the decorations.

Lyon knew he ought to just stay seated and ignore him, but something was nagging him about Gray’s comment and finally he cracked, and got up and followed.

He frowned as he entered the room and his eyes fell on the boxes of decorations. “What are those?”

Gray frowned at him, confusion mapped across his face. “The Christmas decorations. What are you doing in here? I thought you were going to spend the day with Juvia?”

Lyon felt a sliver of guilt, but pressed on, ignoring Gray’s jab. “Since when?”

Gray’s face screwed up in confusion, before a look of understanding took over. “Since you left.”

“Why did we get new decorations? What happened to the old ones?” Lyon demanded, a surge of panic running through him.

“Relax, there in here too. And we didn’t get new decorations, I did. Everyone forgot about decorating the year you left and when I realized that I decided if I was gonna be the one doing it I wanted to do it my way.” Gray explained, while dragging the Christmas tree box from the closet.

Lyon glared down at the offending decor. “What, exactly, was wrong with the decorations we had?”

“They’re tacky,” Gray said with a shrug.

“Tacky,” Lyon sputtered. “They’re traditional! And a lot better than these I might add. I mean blue and white snowflakes? Really? That’s so overdone.” He continued, gesturing to the assortment of bulbs and lights at his feet.

“Yeah, cause green and red isn’t?” Gray shot back.

“That’s different, those are the colours of the holiday. They can’t be overdone.” Lyon stated, matter-of-factly.

“Whatever. I’m decorating, that means I can do what I want.” Gray said, leaning down and grabbing one of the boxes and hefting it up. He started carrying it out to the den where they usually set up the tree.

Lyon followed, hot on his heels.

“Besides, everyone’s liked it the last two years, I’ve gotten a shit ton of compliments.” He called back to Lyon over his shoulder.

“So? I always got compliments too, they were probably just being nice to you.”

Gray rose an eyebrow at Lyon. “I’m old enough that they’re not going to be worried about hurting my feelings, you on the other hand, were a kid. Pretty sure if any one was getting the pity compliments it wasn’t me.”

“Well, I think you’re wrong. My decorating is on point and I think we should put it to a vote.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Gray asked.

“We’ll each get a side of the tree, most votes get to decorate the house.” Lyon proposed.

Gray’s eyes narrowed and he seemed ready to agree, then he shot Lyon a smug look. “I would, but there’s just one problem.”

“And what would that be?”

“You promised your girlfriend a whole day of horror movies.”

Lyon faltered, and the smile fell from his face. He’d almost forgotten all about that. He frowned and sighed. He hated the thought of letting Gray win by default, because he was sure he’d win, but Juvia did take priority.

“Hey, what are you two arguing about now?” Ultear asked, wandering into the den with Juvia in tow.

“Nothing,” Lyon muttered.

Gray smirked. “I was just showing Lyon the new decorations and telling him about all the compliments I’ve been getting for them. He wanted to compete to see which style was preferred, but well, I reminded him he’s got prior obligations, and promises to keep.”

Juvia raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s sweet of you, but I really don’t mind if he wants to decorate. If I’m honest, you two have been smothering me for the last two hours and I could use a break.”

Lyon perked up, and looked at Juvia, trying to see any signs of hesitation. “You know you don’t just have to say that. I did promise to watch horror movies with you, and I fully intend to keep that promise.”

Juvia nodded and smiled at him. “Oh, I know you will, but it doesn’t have to be right this minute. It’s better to watch movies in the dark anyways.”

Lyon’s face lit up and he wrapped Juvia up in a tight hug. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He planted a firm kiss on her cheek before sprinting off towards the mud room in order to pull out his decorations.

“Okay we’re heading- Woah!” Ur cried as Lyon almost barrelled straight into her.

“Sorry Mom!” he called, hopping around her and returning to his mad dash.

Gray stalked into the room behind him, and grabbed another box from the floor as Lyon managed to drag a large box from the closet.

“What are you two doing?” Ur asked.

“Decorating,” Lyon grunted, hefting the box up and following Gray back into the den.

Ur followed behind them, a worried look written across her face. “Both of you?”

“Yep, we’re gonna divide the tree in half and decorate it in our own styles, and you’re all going to vote to see who gets to decorate the rest of the house.” Gray said, setting down the box with ease and moving to go grab another.

Ur held her hand up and fixed him with a stern look, halting him in his tracks.

Lyon let out a huff as he straightened after setting down his own box and turned his attention back to his mom.

“This is not happening. You two are not turning decorating our house into a competition.” Ur insisted.

“But Mom-” Both of them cried in unison, then turned to each other with a scathing glare.

“No, no buts. I thought you were spending the afternoon watching movies with Juvia,” Ur said to Lyon.

“Well-” Lyon started

“I don’t mind.” Juvia interjected. “To be honest this is kinda interesting.”

Ultear cackled, and draped an arm around Juvia’s shoulder. “That’s the spirit! You get comfy on the couch, I’m gonna grab some wine and snacks.”

“What?” Ur exclaimed, “No, no wine. This has not been agreed to.”

“Oh, come on Mom, let them duke it out. You said you’d be happy no matter what, so long as it was done for you,” Ultear said.

Ur shot Ultear a reproachful look.

“She’s got a point, you did say that dear,” Silver said with a wide grin plastered on his face as he walked into the den from the kitchen.

“Not you too. We don’t need to different sets of decor throughout the house.” Ur said.

“It won’t be,” Lyon said. “Just two sets on the tree and then the winner gets to decorate the house in their style.”

Ur frowned, but sighed when she noticed everyone looking at her expectantly. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t destroy anything.”

A chorus of cheers echoed through the house.

Ur rolled her eyes, and headed for the door, not wanting to witness the catastrophe that was about to unfold. “We’ll be back in a couple hours!”

“‘Kay.” Ultear said.

“Bye Mom!” Lyon exclaimed and waved.

“Drive safe,” Gray called out.

Once she was out the door Lyon was back to retrieving boxes.

Silver smirked, and clapped Gray on the shoulder as he made his way to the door. “Make me proud kid.”

“Will do,” Gray called out, with a wave.

Ultear grinned at Juvia. “Get comfy girl, this is gonna get good. I haven’t watched them compete at something in over six years!”

Juvia giggled at Ultear’s enthusiasm and plopped down onto the couch. Both boys were rushing about, piling more and more boxes into the room. It was a bit weird, sitting there in the midst of the chaos, surrounded by Christmas everywhere she looked. There was a time when it would have been unbearable, but in that moment, it really wasn’t so bad.

* * *

Juvia had to admit, she was more than amused at how seriously the boys had taken the challenge presented to them. Most people would have said they were going overboard, but Juvia admired tenacity, no matter what the reason for it, and both of them had it in spades.

Once they’d finished piling boxes into the den they’d actually worked together to assemble the tree. Ultear had been in charge of the music, but had quickly abandoned the effort as the two of them had argued repeatedly over what to listen to, and complained loudly when the other’s choice was being played. In the end, Juvia had taken over, with the rule that the music being played had to be Christmas themed as that seemed to garner the least amount of bickering or complaints.

And so she’d spent the last half an hour going back and forth between Gray’s traditional choices and Lyon’s pop renditions. Currently it was Lyon’s choice, and he’d decided to put on a show with it.

“What a bright time, it’s the right time, to rock the night away,” Lyon sang, He was right in front of Juvia as his hips swayed to the music. “Jingle bell time, is a swell time.” He turned and smacked his ass. “To go riding in a one-horse sleigh.”

“Ah! Lyon stop, get your butt out of my face!” Juvia shrieked, amidst a chorus of laughter, as she planted her foot against his ass and tried to shoved him forward.

Lyon caught himself before he moved far, and planted his hands on his knees and began twerking his way back toward her as he sang. “Giddy-up jingle horse pick up your feet. Jingle around the clock.”

He swiveled his hips right above her lap and Ultear let out a whistle and Gray shout out cat calls.

“Mix and a mingle and a jingling beat. That’s the jingle bell, that’s the jingle bell, that’s the jingle bell rock!” As Lyon ended the song he dropped into Juvia’s lap, arms spread wide in a typical tada fashion.

She would have been more annoyed, but the room erupted in laughter and applause and truthfully she found it more funny than anything. The wine Ultear kept feeding her was probably helping in that matter.

Plus the little stunt seemed to diffuse the remaining tension between him and Gray. The two of them laughed together, as Gray hauled Lyon off her and they returned to decorating the tree. It was a gaudy monstrosity at this point; half covered in red and green ornaments, with big red bows, and candy canes, while the other half was blue and silver ornaments, with white snow flakes, and icicles dangling. The only thing uniform about the tree was the white lights.

Juvia sighed and returned to queuing the playlist. She’d been good about keeping their preferences even, but after a bunch of searching she’d finally managed to find what she was looking for, and grinned. “Guys, I don’t suppose you’d be okay if I played some of my music for a bit?”

“Uh….” Lyon tensed and turned to look at her, apprehension written across his face.

Juvia did her best to look innocent.

“Sure.” Gray replied, with a shrug, still focused on hanging icicles from the tree.

“I don’t know….” Lyon said, still eyeing Juvia suspiciously.

Gray frowned and glanced at Lyon. “I don’t see what the big deal is, so long as she sticks to the rule, which is that it has to be Christmas music, then it can’t be that bad.”

Lyon bit his lip glancing between them.

“Geez, you hate her music taste or what?” Ultear asked.

Juvia giggled, “I have a bit of an eclectic taste in music. It’s kinda all over the place.”

“Well I say go for it, so that’s two of us, and Lyon’s supposed to be pampering you for the day, so he can’t really complain too much, so I think you’re in the clear,” Ultear said.

Juvia grinned. “Awesome.”

“Oh boy,” Lyon muttered. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you two.”

Ultear rolled her eyes, and Gray scoffed.

Juvia hit play, and the soft chime of jingle bells started forming the background to the song, and Lyon stared at her in confusion, before looking pleased at her choice. Finally a choir of singers softly began to sing.

_We wish you a merry Christmas_

_We wish you a merry Christmas,_

_We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year._

The jingle bells dropped out, distorting into heavier background music, and Juvia let her grin turn devilish as Lyon’s shoulders sagged in resignation.

This time the voices were louder and more rough.

_We wish you a metal Christmas,_

_We wish you a metal Christmas,_

_We wish you a metal Christmas and a happy New Year!_

Drums erupted and a heavy electric guitar wailed.

_YEAH!_

Ultear stared at her in complete shock and Gray dropped an ornament as he practically jumped.

Juvia laughed as he spun around, giving her the most perplexed look. “You’re into heavy metal?”

“Yep,” Lyon replied for her, heaving a sigh.

“Seriously?” Ultear asked, raising her voice to be heard above the music. “You don’t exactly seem like the type!”

Juvia responded by raising her hand in the air. Her fingers formed the sign of the horns and she banged her head along to the music. She caught Lyon rolling his eyes at her, but he sent her a small smirk anyways, and to her surprise, none of them complained.


	18. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lyon comes to a few realizations, none of which thrill him. But hey, you can't win 'em all right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay, so chapter 19 is written and will be posted on time! I want to give a big thank you to Contrail for our little chats because they inspired an edit for this chapter that fleshes a lot more out.
> 
> Mered is back next chapter! There's a small excerpt on my tumblr under the #IKYSS tag if anyone's interested. Also my birthday is coming up at the end of the month (27th), and that means I'm gonna be pretty busy with family and life over the next few weeks so Chapter 20 is going to be pushed back an extra two weeks so that I have time to do a good job on in, but I promise that the last scene will make it worth the wait. It will be posted on March 24.

"What the hell happened to this place?" Gajeel demanded, as he gazed around the foyer. His head moved back and forth between the living room and the den taking in the mishmash of decorations.

"Gajeel!" Levy elbowed him as she shot him a reproachful look.

"What? It's like a tornado picked up all the decorations from Walmart and then unleashed them on the house.

Juvia giggled, and took the pizza boxes from Gajeel's hands, allowing him to take off his coat and boots. "Don't ask, there was a bit of a disagreement on decorating styles." She handed the boxes to Silver, who proceeded to carry them into the living room where Natsu and Lucy were already waiting.

To say that the vote hadn't gone as expected, would be an understatement. Ultear had sided with Lyon, and Silver sided with Gray. Ur had refused to choose, stating she liked both styles; and Juvia had refused to vote because she didn't care for decorating in the first place.

The tie lead to Natsu and Lucy being called, only to have their votes split as well, and in the end the whole house had been divided for decorating. Of course, that hadn't stopped the competition, much to Ur's annoyance.

As soon as Gajeel and Levy had gotten their coats and boots off Lyon and Gray were all over them.

"Okay, before you go eat you need to come vote," Lyon demanded, ushering them both towards the den.

"Hello to you too," Gajeel huffed as he was practically shoved before the tree by Gray.

Levy raised an eyebrow. "Voting on what?"

"Decorating styles of course," Lyon answered as he gestured towards their tree with pride.

"That thing is hideous," Gajeel said, sneering at the gaudy monstrosity before him.

"Ha, don't we know it," Ultear said, coming up behind them, nursing a fresh glass of wine.

Both Gray and Lyon shot her a glare.

"You're not supposed to look at it as a whole," Gray explained, stepping in front of Lyon's side of the tree. "Just one side at a time, let start with mine."

Lyon barely gave them a minute before moving Gray over to show off his own side, both of them staring expectantly at their new guests.

"Uh, I kinda like Lyon's," Levy replied, biting her lip and shooting Gray and apologetic glance.

Gajeel stared at the tree a while longer. "Gray's is less painful to look at."

Both boys groaned, and Ultear cackled. "Looks like no one's winning after all."

"Nope," Juvia said, finally stepping up beside Gajeel and giving him a light shoulder check as greeting. "Hey."

"Yo." He stared down at her for a moment before slinging an arm over her shoulder and giving her a half hug. "Sorry we couldn't be here earlier."

Juvia shrugged and smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's okay. I've actually been pretty good today."

Gajeel eyed her suspiciously, but after a moment he nodded. "You look happy."

Juvia blushed and smiled, ducking her head against his shoulder.

"Okay, I can't take this, Juvia you have to vote. You're the only one who hasn't," Lyon pleaded, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Uh, Mom didn't vote," Ultear pointed out.

"Mom's never going to pick," Gray said, fixing Juvia with a look as well, "but you should. Really, neither of us will be offended, promise."

Lucy appeared from behind them with a frown on her face and Natsu in tow. "Uh, doesn't Lyon have a bit of an unfair advantage? I mean Juvia's his girlfriend, she's bias towards him."

"That won't be why Juvia votes for my style," Lyon said, grinning at her. "It'll be because I've earned it."

Gray snorted. "I trust her not to be bias, besides, it was my favourite house she was admiring yesterday. I'm pretty sure I've got this in the bag and she's just trying to spare your feelings."

"Well you'd be wrong," Lyon said, and shot him a glare. He turned to Juvia. "Come on, Juv's. You gotta settle this."

Juvia sighed and slipped from Gajeel's side to stand before the tree, looking contemplative. "If I do this you both promise to accept my decision?"

"Of course," Lyon declared.

"For sure," Gray nodded.

"And you won't bother me about it any more?"

"Yep," "Yes." They answered in unison.

Juvia sighed, and continued to stare at the tree. Silence fell around her and she could feel the tension coming from Gray and Lyon.

"Well, if I had to choose, I'd say my preference would be," she paused, and bit down on her inner cheek as Lyon held his breath and Gray twitched. She was drawing it out and both of them knew it. "The way it was before."

The was a pregnant pause as everyone processed what she said.

"What!" "That's not an answer!" Lyon and Gray shouted over each other.

"Gihihi, sure it is!" Gajeel howled, clapping Juvia on the back.

Natsu was laughing as well, and Ultear placed her hand on Juvia's shoulder as she grinned. "She played you both!"

"That's not fair!" Lyon cried. "Juvia, you have to give us a real answer!"

Juvia shrugged. "I did give you a real answer, and you both promised that would be the end of it."

"But-" Gray tried to protest.

"No buts. You don't like it, go bug your Mom for an answer. That's my preference." Juvia smirked.

"You're evil," Gray muttered.

"Cruel woman. I'll remember this the next time you want a foot rub," Lyon threatened.

Juvia shook her head. "Come on, let's eat I'm starving."

"Yeah! Finally!" Natsu shouted, and bounded back into the living room.

Lucy followed, at a quick trot. "Natsu! You better not take too much, other people need to eat too!"

Juvia grinned and headed towards the living room as well, Gajeel fell into step alongside her. "It's good to see you smiling."

Juvia nodded and looked up at him. "It's been good. Talking to people, and having them support me. It feels good, kinda like having a family again."

Lyon threw his arms around her neck and pressed himself against her back, causing them both to stumble forward into the hallway before righting themselves. "That's because you do."

Gray and Ultear were quick to pile themselves onto the hug and all four of them ended up crash landing on the floor in a tangle of limbs in the foyer.

Silver smiled down at her from living room. "Yep, you're stuck with us now kid."

"Gihihi, serves ya right. This is payback for you clamping onto me when I was kicking Natsu's ass," Gajeel said.

"Ow, Tear your knee is digging into my back," Lyon whined, squirming above Juvia, in an attempt to free himself.

"Deal with it, I'm hugging Juvia," Ultear bit back, while tightening her hold on the two of them.

"I appreciate the love and stuff, but it's getting hard to breathe," Juvia wheezed.

Gray and Ultear were quick to move, offering her halfhearted apologies. Lyon was a little slower in getting up, complaining all the way about being crushed and how much his siblings weighed.

Juvia couldn't help but smile up at all of them. Gajeel held out his hand, and hauled her to her feet, grinning back at her.

"Alright, come on, food's getting cold!" Silver called out. "And we've got a marathon of Hitchcock movies to watch."

All three siblings groaned, but none of them truly looked unhappy, as the ushered Juvia into the living room.

As she settled onto the couch between Lyon and Gajeel she smile, taking in the sight of so many people.

She'd never in a million years, have thought she'd end up with this kind of support and love. She never thought she'd have a real family again. She felt the tears prick her eyes, and for once knew they weren't because she was sad. For the first time in six years she felt safe, and loved, and hopeful.

* * *

Lyon tugged his pyjama pants up and over his boxers, and sat down on the side of the bed. He could hear Juvia shuffling behind him and made sure to keep his eyes trained on his dresser out of respect. It didn't matter to him, but he knew she was self conscious so he did his best to respect her wishes and make sure she was comfortable.

He smiled, thinking back over the day. It had started out stressful, but he had to admit it ended up being one of the best day's they'd had since getting here. He felt a lot of pride over how happy and at ease Juvia had been with his family; and how loving and accommodating they'd been to her. It was nice, and he wanted her to continue to have that. The more he thought about it, and the more he watched her today, the more he realized how much those things had been missing from her life.

When she'd told him about her adoptive parents, it had broken his heart. Even though he could understand Matthew's issues with keeping her, he found himself hating the man. Lyon couldn't imagine either of his parents giving any of his siblings up, and he couldn't believe that someone could just abandon Juvia like that.

He let out a sigh, closed his eyes, and dropped back onto the bed with a thud. The mattress creaked in protest.

"Hey. No peeking," Juvia grumbled.

"I'm not," Lyon said, and scrunched his eyes together tighter to proving his point.

Juvia huffed, but stayed quiet, and he took it as permission to remain where he was.

His mind wandered from Matthew to the much more current male problem in her life. He knew it wasn't any of his business, and he believed her when she said that nothing happened, but the idea of her sleeping with Gray, even in the platonic sense, still bothered him. Gray wasn't the type to pass out during a movie, which meant that he'd made the conscious decision not to wake Juvia and to fall asleep next to her.

"I'm decent, you can open your eyes," Juvia told him.

Lyon let his eyes flutter open and winced at the light, before tilting his head back to look at Juvia. She was standing in front of the mirror brushing her hair, and Lyon waited for her to come join him.

She finally set the brush down on the bedside table, and Lyon sat up, and shifted himself under the covers, flipping hers back in the process. Juvia stood there, eyeing the space, but made no move to join him and Lyon's heart dropped to his stomach.

"I'm not really tired yet, I was thinking I might go make myself a cup of tea," she mumbled, unable to look him in the eye as she said it.

Lyon frowned. "You mean you think you're gonna head back downstairs, and stay there."

Juvia flinched at the bluntness of his words, but she made no move to deny them.

Lyon took a deep breath, debating whether he ought to voice his thoughts. She'd been having a good day, and he'd hate to ruin that now, but at the same time he couldn't just sit back and ignore his concern for her. "Look, about last night…. I believe you when you said nothing happened, and I get that you went down cause you had a nightmare, but what exactly went on between you two? How'd you end up cuddled together on the same couch?"

Juvia sat down on the edge of the bed and met his gaze. "I told you, I came down upset. He took me into the kitchen and made me hot chocolate and ice cream, like his mom used to. Then I told him about the whole tradition that Matthew started. I think he just wanted to replicate that; make me feel safe the way Matthew had."

Lyon's gut twisted, and a wave of jealousy washed over him. He hated the idea that she'd told Gray about that before him. He knew it was ridiculous and petty, but he couldn't help it.

"Why does it bother you so much?" Juvia asked.

"Because Gray's not the type to dote on someone for no reason."

"So?"

"So, you're getting too close to him. You're letting your feelings cloud your judgement and you're gonna get hurt and it's gonna undo everything."

Juvia frown. "Lyon you're being dramatic."

"No I'm not. You've known him for six days, and already you've told him more about you than you've told me in two years. Two years, Juvia." Lyon stared at her.

That was the crux of it. It wasn't Gray's concern and attention, it was Juvia's. It was the way she trusted Gray, and cared about his feelings, and felt the need to explain herself to him. It was the way she said Lyon was her best friend, that she love him, but she never once opened up to him. He'd told her everything, trusted her more than anyone else, and yet it was Gray she went to last night. "Why?"

Juvia bit her lip and averted her gaze. "I don't…."

She stopped herself and glared down at his sheets, before taking a deep breath and meeting his gaze. "Because I was afraid you'd hate me."

"That's insane. Why would I hate you? Because your parents died? Because Matthew and Carol couldn't keep you?"

"No," Juvia snapped. "No you don't- Not because of what happened, because of how I feel."

Lyon frowned and shifted to face her full on. There were tears gathering in her eyes and her hands were balled into fists at her side.

"I'm so angry," she sobbed.

"Of course you'd be angry, anyone would be," Lyon said, reaching out to take her hand.

Juvia shook her head. "No, you don't get it. I'm still so angry. You've talked so much about Gray, and what he was like, and how he acted and didn't care about anyone, and I just…. I'm no different."

"Don't be ridiculous you're not-"

"Yes, yes I am. I was goading Bacchus and his friends on at the mall. I wanted a fight, I wanted to hit them. I just needed him to take the first swing." She looked up at him, eyes wet with unshed tears. "You get so frustrated sometimes, when I start arguing with people. You're constantly saying I need to calm down, but you don't get it… that is me being calm."

"Juvia…." Lyon reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight to his chest.

She didn't resist, instead curling into the embrace and wrapping her arms tight around him in return.

"I don't hate you," he whispered against the crown of her head. "I could never hate you."

"You hate Gray."

Lyon sighed. "That's different."

"No it's not," Juvia said.

"Yes, it is." Lyon grabbed her by the shoulders and held her back so he could look her in the eyes. "Sure, Gray's anger and his selfish behaviour bothered me, but I put up with it for years, believing that we were family. A part of me always knew he didn't mean it. Just like you and Gajeel know you've got each other's backs, right?"

Juvia nodded.

"I only started taking it personally when I realized Gray didn't actually feel that way. He lived here for five years, and he still only saw me as an outsider and a threat. It made me so mad, cause all that time I told myself he cared. That deep down, he wanted to be a family but was too scared of losing us to drop his guard." Lyon sighed and collapsed against the headboard, his head hitting the wall with a dull thunk. "I know everyone thinks I'm this bitter asshole, but I don't care. I'm not making that mistake again."

Juvia reached out and threaded her fingers through his. "So, what you're saying is, you don't hate him. You're just scared of getting hurt."

Lyon frowned. He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to say that he hated Gray, and that Gray was an asshole who only cared about himself, but he held back.

When he looked at it from her perspective, he could kinda see the similarities between her and Gray. So what made them different? Why was it that he loved her, and loathed Gray?

"Sort of. I just- I can't trust Gray. You're different from him because I know you'd never intentionally do something to hurt me."

Juvia sighed. "I'm sorry. Deep down I know that. I should have just talked to you, but every time you'd complain about Gray; the way you'd talk about him and the thing's he's done…. I just couldn't help but feel like a fraud. I've done horrible, selfish things. I've hurt people, and not always with a good reason."

She paused and looked him in the eye and Lyon gave her hand a squeeze, urging her to keep going. "I guess part of me was ashamed, and wanted to forget it all. Margaret Town was my chance to do that, leave it all behind, only I couldn't. That scared me more than anything."

"I wish you would have just talked to me. I've told you everything, even the really embarrassing stuff, and all this time I thought you trusted me too. That I was special to you too."

"You are, and I've wanted to talk to you so many times, but I- I couldn't."

"But you can talk to Gray."

Juvia winced at the bitterness in his voice. "It's not like he's got some moral high ground to judge me from."

"And I do?"

Juvia stared back at him pointedly.

Lyon bit his lip. "Do I really come off that way?"

"Sometimes," Juvia said with a shrug.

Lyon threaded his free hand through his hair and tugged at the ends. He'd never meant to make her feel judged.

uvia took a deep breath. "Look, I know I should have talked to you, and I am sorry I let my fears get the best of me. But, just because I told Gray first, doesn't mean you've stopped being my best friend, or that you're less important to me. I like being able to be the one you confide in. I like that I can trust you to watch out for me when we're out clubbing, and you're still a way better karaoke partner than Gajeel."

She flashed him a smile, and squeezed his hand again, before curling back up against him. "Nothing's gonna change that."

Lyon sighed and wrapped his arms around her, and held her tight to him. He shouldn't have needed to hear those words, but after everything they'd been through they filled him with a sense of relief. It didn't fix everything, clearly their friendship was a lot more one sided than he'd thought, but they could work on that. He could work on that.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Juvia broke the silence. "Lyon, you don't think Gray's trying to hurt you by going after me, right?"

Lyon shook his head. "No. Gray's an ass, but he doesn't get caught up in drama like that." Lyon scoffed. "You know, he was actually pretty pissed at Sherry when she cheated on me."

Juvia frowned. "He was?"

"Well, they always hated each other, but still… I think that was the first time he'd ever shown any concern for the shit going on it my life. I guess I gotta give him some credit on that front, he never went after a girl who was with someone, no matter how hard they tried."

"Oh, well, that's good."

"Mhmm," Lyon hummed, then frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Juvia said.

He didn't buy it. There was something he was missing; something that was going on that Juvia hadn't told him that explained Gray's attentiveness. Gray wasn't the type to just willingly comfort upset women; not when he didn't have to.

"Juvia, is there something going on with you two? He's been super attentive towards you, and I'm not saying you don't deserve it, but Gray's not the type to dote on someone. Not unless he was getting something out of it."

Juvia bit her lip, and averted her gaze, and Lyon knew he'd hit some kind of nerve. He fixed her with a hard stare, and she squirmed under the scrutiny. He didn't want to keep pushing, but he wanted her to know he wasn't going to drop it.

Finally she sighed, and glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. "He probably just feels grateful because I've been giving him advice to try and mend his relationship with you."

Lyon froze and felt a flash of anger run through him. "I'm sorry, you've what?"

Juvia sighed and shot him a pleading look. "Look, I know you've been through alot with Gray, and you have a lot of valid reasons to be upset with him, but he wants to make amends for all of it. And maybe I'm completely off in left field but I believe him." Juvia grabbed his hand, and locked eyes with him. "I know that, no matter how much you want to deny it, deep down you still care about him. I know that the rift between you two bothers you. You hate that it's there; and more than anything that's what's hurting you."

Lyon pulled his hand from hers and glared at her. "There are a lot of things that have happened that can't just be undone with the wave of a magic wand."

"I know that. I've told him that. I've told him that it's going to take a lot of time, and effort, and patience if he actually wants to fix everything." Juvia said, and crossed her arms beneath her chest. "I've also told him that he's gotta put up with a lot of resistance too, because you're being particularly stubborn."

"I have every right to be," Lyon snapped back, feeling incensed. She knew all about his history with Gray, and now all of a sudden she wanted him to forget about that? To just let it go?

"You do," she said with a sigh. She twist around and leaned back against the headboard and pulling her knees up to her chest. She stared down at the blanket, her fingers tracing small patterns across it.

Lyon watched her. He felt a bit guilty for snapping, he knew she was only trying to help, but why she felt the need to meddle in his relationship with Gray, he couldn't understand.

Sure, there was a part of him that wished things could be different between him and Gray, but they couldn't erase the past. And he didn't want Gray to think that it would all be okay with an apology, because that wasn't happening.

"I know you've been hurt by Gray, and by his friends, and you'd be completely within your rights to never forgive any of them," Juvia said, meeting his gaze with hers.

Lyon held her gaze and his breath, sensing there was more to that statement than just an affirmation.

"But if you ever want a relationship with Gray, and maybe that's a big if, but if you do; you're eventually going to have to decide that Gray deserves your forgiveness, because nothing Gray does or says is going to earn that."

Lyon frowned, not quite following her. He felt like he agreed with the last part, but if Gray couldn't earn his forgiveness why would he choose to forgive him?

"Lyon," Juvia started, taking his hand once again, "Gray can't erase the past. He can only prove that he's grown and learned from it, and that he doesn't want to repeat his mistakes, and I think he's made that pretty clear to you. But it's up to you to decide if who Gray is now, is someone you want a relationship with."

Lyon stared at her for a moment, letting her words sink in before sighing and resting his head against the wall, and closed his eyes.

The bed creaked as Juvia shuffled closer, and curled up against his side. Her fingers brushed against his stomach tracing patterns, and Lyon focused on the feeling of it, using it to ground himself and clear his head of the bitter feeling that weighed on him.

He didn't want to admit it, but, at least in the last couple days, Gray had seemed different. Gray had been changing even as Lyon remained stuck in their old habits. Gray had been trying harder not to get into fights with him, and also trying to spend more time with him. It was weird to think that Gray had matured, but Lyon constantly forgot that two years had gone by. A lot had changed with his family.

Lyon sighed. "I think I hate it when you're right, and it doesn't fall in my favour."

"Most people do," Juvia giggled.

Lyon shifted so he could look her in the eye. "I'm pretty sleepy, so I'm gonna call it a night, but you should go make yourself that cup of tea. Maybe watch another movie or two."

Juvia's eyes widened and a smile broke out on her face as she tackled him in a tight hug.

He grunted with the force, but hugged her back all the same. His stomach twisted itself in knots, over how happy she looked. He held her a little tighter. He didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty sure Juvia was falling for Gray.

* * *

Juvia practically skipped down the stairs, feeling elated over her talk with Lyon. It was good to finally be honest with him about how she was spending with Gray. A small part of her mind nagged at her though, not everything he said added up.

Her feet hit the floor and she paused. His reactions to Sherry and his actions Wednesday night seemed at odds with Lyon's perceptions. Not that it would be the first time Lyon was off the mark when it came to Gray, but usually he fell on the more critical side of things.

What could have changed to make him see Sherry's indiscretion in a different light?

Her heart fluttered as she remembered the feel of his lips against her neck. Her hand reached up to ghost over the place where he'd kissed her. Lyon had said Gray wasn't the type to go after a girl that was taken, and yet...

Juvia smiled swung herself into the doorway of the living room greeting Gray with a brilliant grin. "Hey, you cool with some company?"

Gray hit a button on the remote, and the movie paused, before he turned and stared at her; clearly perplexed by the question. Or maybe by her overly cheerful demeanour. "Uh yeah, of course… but weren't you getting ready to go to bed?"

"I was," Juvia said with a nod, "but, I mean, I'm not tired, and I keep doing this every night. I'll go upstairs with Lyon, and we'll go to bed and I'll lay there for the longest time, and then eventually I'll give up, and come downstairs anyways, so I thought… why not skip the whole lying awake with nothing to do part."

"Makes sense," Gray said, and his eyes darted in the direction of the stairs and Lyon's room, "So he knows you're down here? With me?"

Juvia nodded slowly, with her eyebrows raised. "Yeah..."

"And he's okay with that?" He fixed her with a disbelieving look, as though she'd just told him the sky was green.

"He seemed to be."

"And you're sure of that? Cause things have been pretty rocky with him and I, and while today seemed better, I don't think he's forgotten that he's pissed off at me," Gray explained, running a hand through his hair and tugging at it. "And given all our previous interactions I really don't think he's cool with us hanging out alone."

Juvia sighed, finally understanding the source of Gray's apprehension. She padded across the living room and flopped onto the couch about a foot away from him, and shrugged as she glanced over at him. "Well, I did talk to him about the whole thing going on between you two, and I told him that I've been trying to help you fix things between the two of you."

Gray winced, and looked at her like he swallowed a mouthful of limes.

"He didn't take it that badly. I mean, he wasn't thrilled with me telling him that I thought he was being too hard on you, but he heard me out. I told him that he needed to decide whether or not he was willing to give you a chance, because you are trying. I told him you've changed, and you want to fix things, but that none of that's gonna mean anything if he's not willing to let the past go at some point," Juvia explained, before looking over at Gray.

He stared at her in awe, before a small little smile crept onto his lips. "Thank you, for saying all that."

"Don't thank me yet, he only said he'd think about it, but it's a step in the right direction."

Gray looked her dead in the eye. "No, seriously, thank you. No one else would have talked to him like that for me, or bothered to talk to me about him. Especially not anyone close to him, and I just… It's cool. You kinda rock."

Juvia blushed and averted her gaze. "It's no problem, I'm happy to help you two."

She took a deep breath and prayed that the heat on her face would subside and that the blush wasn't as bad as it felt. She was pretty sure she was the colour of a tomato. In an attempt to distract herself she turned to face the TV, finding it paused on a close up of Bruce Willis' face.

"So, what are we watching?"

"Only the best Christmas movies of all time."

She turned her head towards him and quirked an eyebrow up in question.

He grinned down at her like a little kid. "Die hard. And then Die Hard 2."

"Neither of those sound like Christmas movies," Juvia said, eyeing him suspiciously. She knew he was a big christmas lover, so it could be deceiving.

"They take place during Christmas, it counts," he replied with a shrug.

Juvia nodded and smiled. She could do action movies. She reached out and grabbed the half eaten bowl of popcorn off the coffee table and turned her back to Gray before shifting herself back, so she was positioned between his legs, and leaned back into him.

Gray tensed, and Juvia looked up at him, only to find his whole face had gone a brilliant shade of lobster. "Umm, is this not okay?" She was already sitting back up, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

"Uh, n-no, it's fine," Gray choked out and Juvia paused frowning at him.

It didn't sound fine, though she couldn't see how it was any different than the night before.

Gray sat forward as well, and fished one of the throw pillows out from behind him, and placed it on his stomach before leaning back, and wrapping an arm around her to pull her back with him, letting out a relieved breath. "That's better."

She gave him another odd look before deciding not to question him and relaxed. His arms reached around and dropped across her stomach and his chin rested on her shoulder as he pressed the play button, restarting the movie.

"So, just to catch you up, that's John McClane, and he's at his wife's Christmas party, it's Christmas eve, and they're separated, but he came there to see her anyways and is trying to patch up his marriage," Gray murmured in her ear, eyes trained on the TV.

Juvia nodded her understanding and blushed over him being so close. She was pretty sure that if Lyon came down right now to check on her he'd pitch a fit, and tell her this was definitely not nothing.

The truth was she didn't want it to be nothing. She knew it had to be, but it was nice being able to pretend, even if it was just for a little bit. It was silly, but after three months of nothing it was nice feeling desire, and intimacy, and for the time being she was going to enjoy it.


	19. Hollaback (This Shit Is Bananas)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mered's back, back again. Mered's back, tell a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick reminder that the next chapter won't be updated until March 24th. Sorry I just haven't had time to keep up, but hey, my birthday is Monday so maybe leave me some love?

Gray grunted, and eased the speaker down on its stand. He straightened and rubbed his shoulder before glancing at Lyon. "Please tell me this is the last time I've gotta move this thing."

Lyon shrugged, then smirked. "I'm pretty sure I've got it right this time, but I've still gotta test it. Why? You gettin' tired?"

"Just annoyed, you've had me move this thing twenty times already and I've still gotta help mom set up the tables in the dining room."

Lyon nodded, and crouched down to fiddle with the wiring on the back of the speaker. He was actually hoping this was the last time, especially since this was the first time Gray was complaining. "Sorry. Just trying to get the acoustics right. I don't wanna get my freak on to subpar sound, do you?"

Gray rolled his eyes and shot Lyon a reproachful look. "I ain't getting my freak on to anything, and I think you're just enjoying bossing me around."

Lyon placed his hand over his heart giving Gray his most over the top shocked face. "You wound me, what kind of brother would I be if I got enjoyment out of your suffering?"

Gray stared at him, frozen in place, with his mouth popped open.

Lyon quirked an eyebrow at him before realization dawned on him. Heat flushed along his neck.

"The typical kind," Ultear drawled, as she sauntered in from the kitchen. She was nursing a glass of wine and Lyon wondered if there was gonna be enough for the guests.

Leaving Ultear in charge of the bar seemed like a bad plan, but Lyon knew better than to point that out.

"I was told to let you know Juvia made snacks. I think she's hoping that if she feeds the two of you, you'll stop trying to sneak the real food," Ultear said, eyeing them.

Lyon bit his lip and Gray averted his gaze. They'd been chased out of, and then banned from, the kitchen when Juvia caught them sneaking chicken wings.

"We weren't sneaking anything." Gray huffed, and folded his arms across his chest. "We were sampling the wings to make sure they were suitable for the guests."

"I still can't believe you said that to her," Lyon hissed.

Gray shrugged. "It sounded reasonable at the time."

Lyon shook his head. "You really need to learn to think before you speak."

"So I've been told," Gray grumbled.

"Don't worry, he's bound to give up nagging eventually," Ultear said ruffling Gray's hair. "Now, come stuff your faces before Dad convinces Juvia to let you starve."

Gray and Lyon both paled before rushing past her towards the kitchen's back entrance.

Lyon was first and bumped into Juvia as she was coming out of the door frame.

"Oops, sorry," she said, sidestepping out of his way to let him through. "I was just coming to check on you. I figured you two would have rushed in here like the house was on fire at the mention of food."

Lyon chuckled, and slipped around her. He was ready to make a beeline to the counter, where he spotted a couple unwrapped platters, when Silver stepped in front of him.

"Ah ah ah," Silver said, wagging his finger.

Both Lyon and Juvia frowned in confusion.

Silver smirked then pointed to a spot above them.

Lyon and Juvia craned their heads upward and caught sight of the mistletoe hanging from the top of the doorway. Juvia flushed pink and Lyon smirked.

"You know the rules," Silver singsonged.

Lyon grinned down at Juvia, "You heard the man; it's the rules."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible." But despite her disapproval she rolled onto the tip of her toes, leaned in, and planted a kiss on Lyon's cheek.

The action was met with with a chorus of disappointed awws.

Before anyone could say anything else Lyon wrapped an arm around Juvia's waist and pulled her back against him. He leaned forward and stole a quick kiss. Before Juvia could react Lyon released her and slipped around Silver, sauntering towards the food.

Juvia was left gaping after him.

Ultear let out a triumphant whoop and Silver clapped him on the shoulder as they joined him around the food.

Lyon snuck a glance back to where Juvia was left standing, only to find her staring nervously at Gray; who was frowning.

Lyon felt his stomach knot, and worried that he'd unintentionally created friction between them.

The feeling passed as Gray's face morphed into a small smile and he ushered Juvia back into the kitchen.

* * *

The doorbell echoed throughout the house. Lyon frowned and twisted in it's direction wondering who the hell was at the door. They still had a few hours left until the party and, as far as he knew, they hadn't ordered anything.

He was pretty much done with setup at this point. He'd been fiddling with the music playlist for the last twenty minutes to avoid being put to work, so he set the laptop aside and rose to answer the door.

"I got it!" Ultear called out as she whipped into the foyer and barrelled towards the front door.

He heard the door swing open before Ultear let out a pleased shriek. "Ahh! You're here!"

Lyon's frown deepened. Ultear was never that excited to see anyone.

He hurried to the front door, but came to an abrupt halt in the doorway of the family room, as he spotted a familiar face.

Mered caught sight of Lyon as Ultear released him from a hug, but before either could react a flurry of footsteps echoed through the house.

"Mered! It's so good to see you!" Ur called as she rushed down the hall to join them in the foyer.

Silver and Juvia weren't far behind and Gray entered from the living room.

"Thank you for coming over early! We could use the extra set of hands," Ur beamed as she wrapped Mered in a hug of her own.

Lyon stood there, mind racing a mile a minute as he tried to make sense of the picture in front of him. Only he couldn't. Somehow, Mered knew his family and was being greeted by them as if he was a regular in the house.

Silver chuckled and stepped up right behind Ur, trading places with her as soon as she stepped away. He wrapped Mered in a firm hug. "Good to see you kid. Hope school's been good."

"It has," Mered replied, pulling back from the hug.

Lyon felt like he was going to be sick. The entire argument from Wednesday came rushing back to him in a whole different context. Mered had been insistent on him coming out to his family, and now he was standing right there with them.

Gray flicked him a halfhearted wave, as he leaned against the door frame. "Hey man."

Mered rolled his eyes, but nodded at Gray in acknowledgement. "Yo, dude bro."

"Oh!" Ur exclaimed, turning to face Lyon. "You finally get to meet Lyon!"

She gestured for Lyon to come forward, but he hesitated. His eyes locked with Mered's and his heart hammered in his chest. Mered knew him, knew this was his family all along.

He swallowed hard. This was it. Mered was going to out him. Lyon took a step forward and felt like his legs might give out, but they didn't. Instead they managed to carry him to his mom's side. He felt Juvia's presence beside him, and when he stopped her hand found his.

"Mered, this is my son Lyon. I know I've talked your ear off about him, and you probably recognize him from all the pictures," Ur said. "Lyon this is Mered. He's your sister's little brother from the big sister program that she volunteered with while in college."

Lyon held his breath, his eyes hadn't left Mered's the entire time. He was somewhere between terrified and numb.

Finally, Mered smirked and held a hand out to him. "Hey, nice to finally get to meet you. Your mom and sister have talked about you so much I feel like we've already known each other for years."

Lyon could feel his entire body uncoil. He forced himself to take Mered's hand and shake it. "Uh... nice to meet you too." His words were stilted and he continued to stare awkwardly, even after Mered released his hand.

"And this," Ur continued with a smile, "is his girlfriend Juvia."

Mered's smirk fell from his face, and his brows furrowed as his gaze shifted from Lyon to Juvia and back again.

Lyon's stomach dropped, and he swallowed hard. A million excuses and apologies clawed their way up his throat and into his mouth, but he couldn't say a thing. His mind drifted back to their conversation on Wednesday.

" _... It's all very coupley."_

" _There is nothing going on between Juvia and I. We are just really, stupidly close friends. Trust me…."_

Small, delicate fingers slid between his. Lyon fought against the instinct to withdraw his hand and distance himself from Juvia; knowing she was just trying to comfort him.

Mered's eyes flickered down to their intertwined hands, and then back up to Lyon's. His face remained mostly neutral but Lyon could see the pain in his eyes.

Lyon didn't need to be telepathic to understand.

Liar. That was accusation in Mered's eyes.

Coward; Lyon's heart added.

"Nice to meet you," Juvia said, as she offered Mered her free hand.

"You too," Mered replied and took her hand giving it a brief shake. "Have you two been together long? They talk a lot about him, but no one ever mentioned he had a girlfriend."

Juvia let out a laugh and plastered a large smile on her face. "Actually, we've been together for a little over two years."

"I see," Mered said, through clenched teeth.

Ultear rested her hand on Mered's shoulder and fixed Juvia with a look. "Yeah, it's a little strange he never mentioned that before."

"Ultear! Don't stir up trouble for your brother," Ur said.

"It's fine, we all tend to omit little details, right?" Juvia replied, her eyes remaining locked on Mered.

Both he and Ultear tensed in response.

Lyon frowned, feeling like there was something he was missing.

Ur glanced between all of them before sighing, and shaking her head in resignation. "Alright, back to work, we've still got far too much to do. Gray, Silver, I need a hand moving the tables around in the dining room."

"I can help you Mom," Lyon offered, wanting to put some distance between him and Mered.

"Actually, I could use your help in the kitchen," Juvia said, while latching herself onto his arm.

"You want me in the kitchen?" Lyon asked, feeling like he'd fallen into the twilight zone.

Mered snorted.

Juvia blushed and gaped at Lyon, who tried his best not to laugh. He hadn't intended it that way but leave it to Mered to catch the innuendo.

"Oi, get your head out of the gutter," Gray snapped.

Mered shot him a look. "Yeesh, someone's got their boxers in a bunch."

Lyon cleared his throat, and fought back another snicker. "I really didn't mean it like that."

"Sure you didn't," Mered said, voice laced with sarcasm.

Silver chuckled behind them and clapped Lyon on the back. "I think he's got you pegged already."

Mered suddenly let out a nervous laugh. "Ha, yeah, so um, what can I do to help?"

"You can head to the kitchen with Juvia and Lyon. Juvia needs some cookies iced and Ultear was still setting up the bar," Silver suggested, before ushering Gray into the living room. "We shouldn't be too long."

"Right," Mered said, looking quite put out about his assigned chore. Once Silver disappeared from view he sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Ultear placed a comforting hand on Mered's shoulder, and guided him towards the kitchen. She shot Lyon a hard look as she passed.

Lyon's gut twisted in discomfort. She'd been in a mood since Thursday night, and he was pretty sure he just figured out why. "This just got really messy didn't it?"

"Yeah, I think it did. Just follow my lead, 'kay?" Juvia said, and gave his arm a squeeze.

Lyon nodded, took a deep breath, and sent out a silent prayer, asking that he managed to get through the night.

* * *

"So you two met through a big sister mentoring program?" Juvia asked, glancing over at Mered and Ultear, who were busy shoving beer and pop cans into the coolers.

"Yep," Mered replied. He didn't even bother to spare her a glance, instead choosing to focus on the task at hand.

He'd been like that since they entered the kitchen, and Lyon couldn't help but feel frustrated. He wanted to talk to Mered, to reach out and try to at least smooth over a lot of the misunderstandings.

He also wanted to get an idea of whether Mered would out him to the rest of his family, and find out what Mered had told Ultear.

"That's interesting," Juvia mused, as she grabbed the next batch of cookies out of the oven. She set the baking sheet down on top of it, and began to slide the cookies onto the cooling racks.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lyon caught Mered tensing.

Mered finally stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her from over his shoulder. "Interesting?"

Lyon frowned and glanced back and forth between the two of them.

Juvia shrugged. "I'm familiar with the program."

"How?" Mered turned to face Juvia, and was openly glaring at her with his arms crossed.

"She's training to be an ECE," Ultear supplied. She'd stopped as well, and was eyeing Juvia and Mered warily.

"It was also a pretty popular program at Oaktown High. I volunteered for it during my last year at high school," Juvia said.

Mered sighed. "You got a point?"

Juvia stopped what she was doing and looked up, locking eyes with Mered. "I'm just curious how you two managed to be paired up, it's a bit of an unorthodox pairing for the BBBSP."

Lyon frowned. His mind recalling one of the few conversations he'd had with Ultear about the program. "Wait. Tear, didn't you say you were getting a little si- ow!"

Lyon winced and clutched his side, shooting a glare at Juvia.

She glared back at him, giving him a meaningful look.

He was about to complain, when everything clicked. He slammed his mouth shut and his eyes widened.

His gaze darted back to Mered, taking in the loose fitting sweater and cargo pants. He took in Mered's height, and remembered the baby faced profile picture from a year ago.

Lyon opened his mouth as a million questions battered about in his brain, but closed it just as quickly. He couldn't just ask things like that, it would be beyond rude.

He forced himself to take a slow breath. He tried to recall Mered's profile, and then their conversations, but his mind was coming up blank. Lyon felt like that would have been something he'd have made note of, but maybe he'd missed something?

He stole another glance towards Mered, taking him in. He could be wrong too.

Mered's gaze swept over both of them, before standing a little straighter and squaring his shoulders. "We were paired up before I started to transition. Ultear was actually the one to help me start."

Lyon felt like the whole world had come to a stop. The way Mered just came out and admitted to being transgendered left Lyon reeling. How could he throw something like that into casual conversation?

"You okay there? You look like you're about to shit a brick," Mered said.

"I'm fine," Lyon said, his voice coming out strangled.

Mered scoffed. "Clearly."

"You know, I figured you'd be the one person that I could count on not to freak out over this," Ultear chided, as she shot Lyon a dirty look.

"I said I'm fine," Lyon hissed. At least this time his voice was even. He took another deep breath. "It doesn't matter to me, but I mean- do Mom and Dad know?"

"Of course they know," Ultear said.

"Yeah, they've been pretty chill about it. Been pretty awesome about me being gay too," Mered added.

Lyon stared at him in disbelief, his stomach felt like lead. Mered was out to his family. He'd been out before they'd even met up, but never once had he said anything about it to Lyon.

"Even Gray's been good about it," Ultear said.

Mered pulled a face. "I don't know if I'd say he's been good. He's got a bad habit of calling me man every other sentence. It's a bit much."

Lyon blinked, taking in the complaint. His gaze darted towards Ultear, curious as to how she'd respond.

"Yeah, but that's just Gray being awkward," Ultear said.

Lyon glowered at here. There it was; Gray's get out of shit free card.

Lyon felt a mixture of sympathy and validation, as he watched frustration map it's way across Mered's face. He had been hearing that line for years now. Ever since Gray's outburst with Silver things had changed.

They'd been more lenient, eager to try and understand the motivations behind Gray's actions in an attempt to address the root of the problem. In the process, discipline seemed to get thrown out the window. Gray's behaviour and attitudes were excused as awkward, and rarely critiqued.

No matter how much Gray liked to tout that Lyon was their favourite, the fact was, Lyon could still get into trouble, he could still disappoint them. For the last seven years Gray had been free of all expectations, and Lyon let it go, telling himself they didn't know how it made him feel.

But now, watching Mered, he knew he'd been right. If he told them, nothing would change. No one would speak up for him. His own feelings and needs would get buried beneath the mountain of guilt his parents held onto.

"Yeah, whatever," Mered muttered, clearly as sick of the excuse as Lyon was, but equally unwilling to push the issue.

"No, not whatever. You should tell him how it makes you feel." Juvia's voice rang out, clear and full of conviction.

Lyon bit back a sarcastic response knowing it would only lead to a fight. If not with Juvia, then with Ultear.

"I don't think that's helpful. Gray's been trying really hard to be friendly and supportive. Chastising him isn't gonna do anything other than alienate him," Ultear said.

"Alienate who?" Gray asked as he strolled into the kitchen from the dining room.

There was a long pause as all of them turned to look at him, unsure of how to answer him.

"Ultear thinks that telling you, you're making Mered uncomfortable is gonna upset you," Juvia said, barely sparing him a glance, before continuing to ice the cookies in front of them.

Lyon shot her a look. This wasn't the time to start picking a fight, especially one Mered wasn't willing to pick for himself.

"What? How am I making him uncomfortable?" Gray asked, as his expression morphed into a frown.

"You keep referring to him as man," Juvia replied.

"No I don't."

Juvia glanced up from her baking and scowled at Gray. "You did it ten minutes ago, right when he walked in."

Gray open his mouth to protest, but stop, before scratching the back of his neck and shooting Mered a sheepish look. "Huh, I guess I did. Sorry man."

He pause for a second as Mered fixed him with a withering look.

"Fuck! I didn't mean to, I swear." Gray yanked at his hair in visible distress.

Mered sighed. "It's fine."

"No, it's not," Gray said, fixing Mered with a determined look, "I don't mean to, it's just... I guess it's just a thing I do. But if it bugs you, then I'll work on it. Just make sure to give me shit when I do it, cause otherwise I probably won't even notice."

"I think I can manage that," Mered said with a smirk.

Lyon stared at Gray in disbelief.

Two years ago that would have been a fight. Hell, four days ago it had been a fight. No matter how much Lyon hated to admit it, Gray was changing.

He'd come a long way from the fourteen year old boy that used to laugh at Bacchus' gay jokes. He was trying to make an effort, albeit a misguided one, with Mered, but the intent was there.

For the first time Lyon genuinely had to consider that maybe Juvia was right. Maybe it was time to at least try to give him a chance. Maybe Gray was trying to make changes, and he meant it when he said he wanted to fix things between them. That thought alone was enough to constrict Lyon's throat. He could feel his eyes prickle and start to water. It was ridiculous how much he still wanted that to be true.

Lyon took a deep breath and quickly wiped his eyes. No one else seemed to notice, save for Juvia, who simply gave his hand a quick squeeze.

"Oi, Gray, are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna come help ice these cookies," Lyon goaded.

"Right, umm, actually I was supposed to come ask if you'd help me grab a few more tables out of the overhead storage in the garage."

Lyon let out a bark of laughter. "Way to stay on task."

Gray rolled his eyes, annoyed at being picked on. He didn't snap back though.

"Let me wash my hands and I'll be right out to give you a hand," Lyon said.

Gray immediately perked up, his lips twitching upwards into the barest hint of a smile. "Thanks."

Lyon nodded and washed his hands, then turned and nudged Juvia. "Try not to stir any more pots while I'm gone."

"No promises."

Lyon glared at her.

"Fine, I'll try not to," Juvia said, putting emphasis on the word try.

Knowing that's the best he was gonna get, Lyon headed for the garage with Gray. He just had to trust her not to do or say anything rash.

* * *

Silence permeated the kitchen once Lyon and Gray left. Everyone continued about their tasks, but no one spoke.

Juvia occasionally stole glances at Mered and Ultear, but decided to head Lyon's advice for once and keep her mouth shut.

Ultear seemed to be lost in thought, and spent more time absentmindedly sipping her wine then she spent stocking the coolers.

Mered, on the other hand, was working as fast as he could and seemed to be avoiding everyone's gaze.

Juvia couldn't help but wonder if she'd made a mistake in calling Gray out. She thought it had worked out well enough, but nobody seemed particularly pleased about it.

"This one's full," Mered announced, finally breaking the silence.

Ultear blinked, then shook her head, before finally looking down at Mered. "Okay, let me get my boots and I'll help you carry it out to the back deck."

Juvia grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped her hands clean. "It's okay, I'll help him. I've got slippers on."

Ultear narrowed her eyes at Juvia. "Don't worry about it, you're busy. It'll take me two minutes to go get my boots."

"It's fine, I'm right here and it'll only take us a minute," Juvia said and stepped towards the cooler, reaching to grab the half closest to her.

"I said don't-"

"Ul, relax," Mered commanded, and reached down and grabbed the other handle. "We got it."

Ultear looked taken aback, then eyed the two of them warily, before slowly nodded her consent.

Juvia and Mered lifted the cooler and carried it past the island, before exiting the house through a set of sliding glass doors and out onto the deck. The cold air cut through Juvia's clothes, and seeped up through her slippers, causing her to shiver.

"Over here," Mered said, nodding to their left.

They set the cooler down by the side railing, and Juvia rubbed her hands over her arms. She was about to rush back into the warmth of the house, when Mered caught her eye.

He seemed anxious, and fidgety, two traits Juvia wouldn't normally associate with him, and so she paused, and met his gaze.

"You didn't have to do that," he said, and averted his eyes.

"No I didn't."

He looked up at her then, confusion mixed with a myriad of other emotions played on his face. "But you did, even though I was being a dick earlier."

Juvia shrugged. "I don't have to like you to respect you."

Mered's face fell, much the way it had earlier when Ur announced Juvia as Lyon's girlfriend.

Juvia wasn't stupid, she understood where Mered's earlier hostility had come from. It wasn't personal. "It's not even that I don't like you, personally. I just don't like the way things went down between you and Lyon. I think you handled it wrong, and you bailed before giving him a chance to explain anything."

Mered glared back at her. "I think he made his stance pretty clear."

"He panicked."

"Whatever. I don't care," Mered huffed, and stomped back towards the house. He came to an abrupt halt at the door and turned back to look over his shoulder, looking conflicted. "But thank you, for talking to Gray for me."

Juvia took a deep breath and tried to shelve her frustration. "You're welcome."

Mered was about to open the door when Juvia reached out, her hand landing on his shoulder. "If there's anything else like that you can tell me. You shouldn't just have your feelings dismissed like that."

Mered let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

"Oh! I've been meaning to ask," Ur began as Lyon followed Mered and Gray into the dining room arms filled with food. Juvia and Ultear were right behind them. "How was your date on Wednesday?"

Lyon felt his heart come to a crashing halt. His eyes whipped up to her only to find her staring at Mered instead. He forced a deep breath in, as a lump formed in his throat. This was going to be bad.

"Awful." Was Mered's one word reply, as he set the plate of brownies down.

"Oh? But you seemed so excited," Ur said with a frown.

"Yeah, what happened," Silver added.

Lyon set down the casserole dish he was holding, while watching Mered out of the corner of his eye. He knew he ought to go back to the kitchen and wait out this whole conversation. Nothing good was going to come from him standing there, and yet he was frozen in place, rearranging the dishes to avoid looking like he was listening in.

"Well, turns out he wasn't as out as his profile said he was. He totally hadn't told his family yet, and then, when I offered to help him come out he shut down and basically said he didn't have a reason to want to," Mered said.

That wasn't what he'd meant! Frustration bubbled up along with a million retorts that Lyon had no way of voicing.

"Really? What an awful thing to say to someone!" Ur said.

Lyon flinched.

"I know, right!" Mered said, throwing his arms up in the air. "I was out of there so fast. I'm so done with all this closeted bullshit."

"Well, now, I don't know about awful," Silver interjected. "You might have just caught him off guard, and who knows, a lot of people around here are pretty closed minded. He might have a good reason for not wanting to come out to his folks."

"I know his family, and they're pretty reasonable people," Ultear said, shooting Lyon a look. "I honestly don't know why he's still in the closet."

"Just because his family seems open minded doesn't mean he doesn't have a reason not to come out," Juvia protested. "Maybe he had a bad experience when he came out before."

"He seemed pretty comfortable when he talked about being out at school," Mered grumbled.

"That doesn't mean he always was. What if it wasn't his choice to come out? Or what if he went through some traumatic event in his childhood. Did you ask him why he was so reluctant?" Juvia said her eyes boring into Mered's

Mered averted his gaze. "No…."

Juvia let out a long sigh, and her eyes and voice softened. "Well, if you really like this guy, don't you think that you oughta try and have that conversation before writing him off?"

"Maybe," Mered mumbled.

"Don't you think he ought to have tried to have that conversation when Mered asked him to come out," Ultear countered.

Lyon's fingers closed into a fist and his nails bit into his palm. He couldn't believe he was stuck standing and listening to everyone else argue and weigh in on his date, and he couldn't say a damn thing.

"Of course he should have," Juvia said, folding her arms across her chest, "but that kinda requires the other person actually sticking around."

Ultear huffed. "Okay, fine. I'll give you that, but the whole potential childhood trauma is a bit much. I know people are a bit rough around the edges here, but it's not that bad."

"I beg to differ." Juvia scoffed and glared at Ultear. "I met some of Gray's old hockey friends on Monday, and there were insults and homophobic slurs being bandied about left, right and center."

"That's just boy's being boys," Silver said.

Lyon's nails bit even deeper into his hand. How many times had he heard that line?

Juvia bristled, and even Mered shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable.

"See! This, this is what I'm talking about," Juvia hissed, gesturing at Silver as she glared at Ultear.

Silver blinked, eyes widening with the accusation.

Mered rolled his eyes. "Look there's always gonna be some assholes who say crap, that's just a part of life. You need thicker skin than that if you're gonna be out."

"Bullshit." Juvia snapped frowning at Mered. "You can't even tell Gray he makes you uncomfortable when he's doing it by accident. How the hell do you think you'd actually managed to speak up against someone who's actually being hostile?"

Lyon glanced about the room, fingers wringing together when he caught sight of his mom. Ur looked pissed, and it was only a matter of time before she ran out of patience.

He reached out and grabbed Juvia by the elbow, pulling her back towards him. "Juvia… breathe."

She frowned and tugged herself free. "No, I'm sorry, but I'm not standing here listening to this hypocrisy." She whirled around and locked eyes with Mered, jabbing a finger in his direction. "Not twenty minutes ago you were thanking me for standing up for you, when no one else would. Now you're trying to act like you can't see how no one having your back would potentially keep someone from wanting to come out?"

"That's enough Juvia," Ur snapped, standing at her full height.

Everyone else in the room shrunk back. Everyone but Juvia, who stood straighter and glared back defiantly.

"I think you're taking this conversation a little too personally, and I don't appreciate you attacking my husband, or implying that he's in some way homophobic because he doesn't condemn a bunch of young boys for behaving poorly," Ur said.

Juvia's jaw clenched and she continued to glare back at Ur, but she remained silent.

Lyon's heart hammered in his throat as he prayed she didn't lose her cool. Silver usually let jabs and angry comments roll off his shoulders. Years of being the main target of Gray's anger had made him patient, but Ur was used to running things, and when she did put her foot down God help anyone who tried to stand against her.

"But, she's right," Gray said, breaking the silence.

Everyone's heads whipped around to stare at him. He'd been absent for most of the fight, having retreated back into the kitchen, but clearly he'd still been able to hear it. He leaned against the doorway, taking in everyone in the room before returning his gaze to Ur.

"I mean, we're supposed to be this liberal family, but no one wanted to tell me that I was making Mered uncomfortable. None of you ever told me that saying that's gay might be offending people. Even my friends, who were actually offended by it, couldn't be bothered to speak up. And I get it; I'm hard to talk to, and you didn't want to put me off. But if I was gay and had to live with that day in and day out I'd have a hard time believing I was gonna be accepted."

Silence engulfed the room, as everyone glanced around at each other.

Lyon was certain he'd entered the twilight zone. Gray had never been that self aware, nor had he ever cared to try and put himself in someone else's shoes.

Lyon glanced at Juvia, she was staring at Gray, wide eyed and impressed. Finally she managed to drag her gaze back to Ur.

"That's what I've been trying to say. I don't mean it as an accusation, or anything like that. Just that, if you're considered progressive, then I could understand how someone who was gay would feel isolated." She wrapped her arms around herself, as everyone's scrutiny returned to her. "It's hard to find your voice in the face of adversity. Sometimes what you need, more than anything else, is to know you're not alone."

Ur took a deep breath. "I suppose that's a fair point, and perhaps that's something we do need to work on. You, however, could work on your tone. You're very quick to start flinging out accusations on matters that have nothing to do with you."

Juvia flinched, and her hands balled into fists. There was a beat of silence where Lyon was certain she was going to argue back. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Ur nodded, seemingly appeased for the moment. "And Mered, I'm sorry we haven't been all that supportive about addressing your concerns. We'll definitely work on that for you."

"Yeah, me and any potential future partners," Mered added.

Lyon stared at Mered wide eyed, and his heart skipped a beat, only for Mered to keep his gaze averted elsewhere.

"Okay, well now that that's all settled I just thought I'd remind you all we have guest showing up in less than an hour," Gray said.

Panic fluttered across everyone's faces and then, all at once, everyone was in a flurry of motion all over again.

* * *

Juvia was freaking out.

She'd been dashing back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room for the last twenty minutes, but her mind was anywhere but the task at hand.

He knew! Gray knew. She was sure of it.

Okay, so, not entirely sure, just mostly sure. It made sense though, it explained his erratic behaviour and all of those stupid digs that he made at Lyon's expense, despite saying he wanted to mend their relationship. He was trying to warn her.

Why he didn't just come out and tell her, she wasn't sure. In fact, it was all a little hazy, but she just… she knew.

Of course, she needed to talk to Lyon before she could do anything about it. Mostly to warn him, but also because if she was wrong this could blow up in her face, and well…. He'd end up having to deal with the consequences.

The only problem was finding a way to get him alone so she could actually talk to him, and that wasn't happening. Not with everyone in the family running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

She finally set the last platter down on the dining room table, and headed back to the kitchen. She was hoping against all hope that Lyon was still there doing dishes.

As luck would have it he was, and miraculously no one else was; not that it would last long enough for them to talk.

The doorbell echoed through the house, and she could hear Gray shouting he'd get it.

She took once last look around, and decided that this might be her only chance. She grabbed Lyon by the arm. "We need to talk."

She didn't wait for a response, and hauled him towards the back door, ignoring his protests.

It was freezing out on the back deck, but she ignored it, and pushed him back towards the far railing then huddled against him for warmth. Both of them shivered as the wind picked up, dusting them with snow.

"Jesus Juvia, what the hell? It's freezing out here," Lyon said through gritted teeth.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I need to tell you something."

"Okay, well I hope it's something fast 'cause we're gonna catch our deaths out here."

Juvia was about to reply, when the sound of the sliding door halted her words.

Lyon's head whipped up, and her fist curled around his shirt. A string of epithets ran through her mind.

"We found them!" A feminine voice called out. One that Juvia couldn't place.

Slowly she turned and found herself staring at a woman with long red hair.

She beamed at the two of them and strode forward excitedly. "Lyon! You finally came back!"

Juvia released Lyon and took a step back as the woman threw her arms around Lyon and yanked him into a hug.

From behind her a blue haired man appeared, and Juvia's eyes were drawn to the odd facial tattoo under his eye. Juvia forced her eyes back up to his, not wanting to be caught staring. She knew more than a few people who'd get offended by strangers eyeing them.

The blue haired man offered her a smile and crept out onto the back porch, arms wrapped around him for warmth. "Erza, I think you may want to ease up on that grip, he still needs to breathe."

The woman, Erza, promptly released Lyon from her hold, and offered him a sheepish grin. "Sorry, it's just been a while. We were starting to think you weren't coming back."

"Well, it's hard to trade sand and surf for the cold," Lyon said, smiling back at her.

The sliding door sounded again, as Gray pulled it closed and stepped out onto the deck with them.

"And you must be Juvia!" Erza exclaimed.

Juvia blinked in surprise, and turned to face Erza. "Yes," she wheezed, as she found herself wrapped up in a bone-crushing hug.

She had no idea how this woman knew who she was, and normally that would have been a concern. Except what Erza said next shocked her too much for her to care.

"Gray's told me all about you!"


	20. Get This Party Started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy a mostly fluffy chapter, that ends with one hell of a bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody miss me? I feel like it's been forever since I've uploaded, even though it's only been a month. Either way, as promised I have returned and I'm certain this chapter will be well worth the wait, I even used the extra time to put some extra effort into editing.
> 
> Now, in regards to further updates. I'm doing Camp Nano this April (which you might know already if you follow me on tumblr). Of course I'll be writing IKYSS; so no you're not getting abandoned, that being said I think it's time to just explain where I'm at.
> 
> When I started this fic I had a very vague outline that went up to chapter 20 and then some ideas of where I'd take it. But some changes have been made along the way and one of the big things that's put a delay on the writing process is that I've decided to pick up the pacing. I've been really happy about the slow build up until this point but when looking at what I'd originally planned I realized that it was just going to drag.
> 
> So I've strayed from the path, and I've reworked some things, and am still in the process of doing this. Hence needing more time to write the chapters. So that being said, I'm switching to monthly updates. And while I know that's gonna disappoint some of you, you'll thank me in the long run. A lot of plot is about to happen and the last thing I want is to let things fall through the cracks or to fall short on some of the delivery, and having the month gives me more time to edit properly.
> 
> Anyways, I'll stop rambling.

"Gray's told me so much about you!" Erza gave Juvia one more tight squeeze before releasing her. She beamed as she gave Juvia another once over. Lyon frowned, and glanced at Gray, who'd gone beet red and looked as though he wanted to protest.

"He has?" Juvia wheezed.

Erza clapped her on the back, causing Juvia to wince. "Of course, he's very fond of you."

"I wouldn't say fond," Gray protested

Erza fixed him with a pointed look.

"What I mean is, well, I was thinking admire, or respect, or-"

"When, exactly, did you and Erza talk about her?" Lyon demanded, folding his arms across his chest. He'd been racking his brain to figure out when Gray had found the time to talk to Erza, but wasn't coming up with anything.

Gray glanced away, blush spreading from his cheeks to the tips of his ears as he scratched at the nape of his neck. "Uh…."

"He came to visit me Thursday morning," Erza said.

Juvia coughed .

"Are you okay?" Jellal's brow furrowed in concern.

Juvia nodded, but continued to cough. "Mhmm."

Erza placed a hand on Juvia's back and patted it gently. "Sorry, I've been told I'm a bit overzealous with my hugs."

"A little?" Jellal said with a knowing smirk.

"It's okay." Juvia took a deep breath and waved off their concern. "I'm fine now."

"Anyways," Erza continued, turning back to Lyon, "Gray mentioned you were back. Then he talked about Juvia, and the fact that she's been instrumental in keeping the two of you on civil terms, and I've been dying to meet her ever since."

Relief overwhelmed Lyon, and came out in a bark of laughter. "So that's where you were that morning. I was wondering what could have gotten you out of bed so early."

"Yeah…. Exactly," Gray said and let out a small chuckle. "Can't say no to Erza."

Erza clamped a hand down on Gray's shoulder, causing him to flinch. "No you can't."

"We should head back in," Jellal suggested. "It's cold out here, someone's bound to catch something."

"We should." Erza looked back over her shoulder at Lyon and Juvia as she ushered Gray back towards the house. "Well, come on you two."

Lyon shot Juvia a quick glance.

She hesitated, and when she locked eyes with him he could tell she was debating whether to follow. Lyon shifted uncomfortably. His hands were starting to hurt, and there was a chill creeping into his bones, but he knew she wouldn't have dragged him out here for no reason. He just couldn't figure out what was so important that it couldn't wait until after the party.

It was clear that, despite Ultear being pissed off with him, neither she nor Mered were about to out him.

He could figure out what to do about that mess later, and it shouldn't be too hard to smooth things out with his mom.

Apparently Juvia came to the same conclusion, and sighed before sprinting back towards the warmth of the house.

Lyon followed after her, welcoming the warmth of the house, and the sound of chatter as the first of their guests arrived.

* * *

Anxiety gnawed at Juvia's stomach. It made it difficult to focus as she was whisked around the house, being introduced to friends and neighbours. She plastered a smile on her face, nodded, and shook their hands. She managed exchanged a few words with some them, but the faces blurred together and she doubted she'd remember a single name given.

More than anything, she wanted to steal Lyon away for a minute. She'd hoped they might be able to sneak upstairs once they'd gone through the first round of guests. Unfortunately Erza seemed to have other plans. She'd all but latched on to Juvia, needling her with questions between every greeting.

"So Gray tells me you're into motorcycles," Erza said, as the older couple Juvia had been talking to excused themselves to go greet a friend and his son in the living room.

Juvia watched them weave through the crowd and disappear from sight; wishing she could do the same. Instead she was trapped in the den; yet again at Erza's mercy. Juvia's only saving grace was that she'd positioned them with a good view of the door, which meant that guests would catch sight of Lyon and come over to greet him.

Her eyes lingered on the front door for a moment longer before she turned back to Erza and Jellal. "Um, yeah. I've always wanted one, but it's not exactly in my budget at the moment."

Jellal chuckled and flashed her a warm smile. "I can imagine. The insurance alone is through the roof. I'm pretty sure that's where most of Gray's money goes; that and hockey."

"Only his spending money," Erza interjected, her elbow catching Jellal's side in her enthusiasm. "Gray's not financially irresponsible. He's already paid off some of his student loans, and he's even managed to put aside a little bit for savings."

Jellal shot a smirk Erza's way.

Juvia found it a little odd. Ezra had been going on about Gray for a while now. Not excessively. It was clear she thought highly of him, though; with how often she'd jump to his defense, or manage to sneak a compliment into the conversation topic.

The fact that Jellal seemed more amused with her than anything else baffled Juvia. If she was in his shoes she's be a lot more concerned…. Then again maybe they had that kind of relationship.

Heat crept up her neck at the thought. Was Gray involved with them? Was he into that kind of thing?

"How about you Lyon? What do you do for work in Margaret Town?" Ezra asked.

"I have a part-time job at the local karaoke club on campus. I don't work a lot of shifts but the hours are flexible and the tips are always good. And last summer Juvia helped me get a job working as a lifeguard during the day, so I managed to save some money going into the start of this year," Lyon replied.

"I don't see how," Juvia teased. "You spent an awful lot of money dragging me out dancing every weekend."

Lyon shrugged. "What can I say, I'm gorgeous, charming, and have a fantastic voice. People practically throw their money at me."

Gray snorted as he appeared behind Erza. "Sounds like you're moonlighting as a stripper."

"If I did I'd be rich. Unfortunately, the strip club near by campus only features women," Lyon said with a salacious grin.

Gray pulled a face. "Not sure I'd consider that unfortunate."

Lyon frowned, and bit down on his lower lip as he glanced away.

"Yeah, well, you're not looking to swindle drunk horny college girls out of all of their money." Juvia wrapped an arm around Lyon's waist and grinned up at him. "But it's good to know that if your acting career falls through you have a very lucrative back up."

"Wouldn't that bother you?" Erza asked with a frown.

Juvia stared back at her, feeling caught off guard by the question. She'd meant it as a joke, of course; but would she have made it if they were actually dating?

"Nah, Juvia's good like that." Lyon draped an arm around her shoulder. "I mean, she kinda has to be, given my chosen profession."

Juvia breathed in. Right. It would make sense that she'd be open-minded to such things. She forced her smile back on. She needed to get her head back on straight before she slipped up and let something slip.

So far Gray hadn't said anything, and she suspected he'd known for at least a few days. Warning Lyon could wait.

"Don't mind Erza, she's just old-fashioned about these things," Lyon teased.

Juvia raised a curious eyebrow at him.

Jellal chuckled. "I don't think most people feel it's old-fashioned to expect their partner to be kissing only them."

Lyon shrugged. "That's why most people don't date actors."

"True enough, I guess it takes a special person to do that," Jellal said, wrapping an arm around Erza's waist. "Aren't you glad I went into law instead?"

"Very glad," Erza responded, planting a quick peck on his cheek.

Well so much for that theory.

Juvia wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not. On the one hand, it meant that Gray wasn't involved with a statuesque red-headed beauty, whom Juvia couldn't hope to compete with. It also meant that she wasn't any closer to understanding him, or his motivations.

The front door flew open with a bang, causing all of them, and several other guests, to jump.

A tall woman strode in with a giant paper bag slung under one arm and her other arm raised high. "The fun has arrived!"

Gray let out a low groan, as his shoulders sank.

Erza frowned and stormed forward. "Cana you can't just slam doors open like that! It's rude."

The woman, Cana, laughed and slung her arm around Erza's shoulder. "Oh come on Erza, this house has seen way worse than that."

"That it has!" A loud male voice boomed. He appeared behind Cana and towered over both girls. His smile was as wide as Cana's and and there was a mischievous crinkle around his eye. It wasn't so much that he looked like Cana, but their expressions and mannerisms were uncannily similar. "Besides, Silver knows I'm good to cover damages if my precious wild child gets out of hand."

Cana rolled her eyes, and sidestepped him as he went to wrap her in a hug.

Silver's rich laugh echoed through the house as he made his way to the front entrance, to clap Cana's father on the back. "That I do. Good to see you Gildarts."

"Good to see you too, man," Gildarts replied, pulling Silver into a one-armed hug. "How's early retirement treating you?"

"Same as always," Silver chuckled, taking the large bag from Cana's arms. "I'll get Ultear to take these to the bar, go mingle and enjoy yourself."

Cana flashed Silver a grin. "Thanks." She shucked off her jacket and threw it across her dad's arms. "Later old man."

Gildarts pouted after her. Finally, he sighed and returned to his conversation with Silver.

Cana bounded towards them with Erza in tow.

"Yo! Look who finally came back!" Cana flung her arms up and wrapped Lyon in a tight hug.

"Hey Cana," Lyon said, hugging her back and smiling. "Good to see somethings haven't changed."

Cana laughed and swatted him. "That's what you get for leaving."

Lyon rolled his eyes as she stepped back from the hug.

"Hey Jellybean, Gray," she greeted, before her eyes caught Juvia's.

Her grin became sly, and her eyes flickered down then back up, tracing Juvia's figure as they went. She stepped around Lyon, planting herself right in front of Juvia. "You're new. Gotta name beautiful?"

Juvia's cheeks felt like they were on fire. "J-Juvia."

"Pretty," Cana said, as her eyes wandered downwards again.

Gray's hand grabbed her forearm and yanked her back a little. "Down girl. She's taken."

Cana turned and raised an eyebrow at him, before her lips curled into a devious smirk. "Really now? Well that's news."

Gray paled. "Woah, no. That's not-"

"She's dating me," Lyon said.

Cana swiveled back around to face him. "Well that makes more sense, you always had better taste."

"The hell, how do you figure that?" Gray squawked, glaring at her.

Cana shrugged. "Sherry was pretty, had a great body, and even if she was a bit of a ditz she loved him. Daphne was a manipulative bitch."

"Daphne?" Juvia asked, glancing between Gray and Cana with concern written over her features.

Gray's jaw twitched and his hands balled into fists. "My ex," he grumbled.

Juvia nodded in understanding, not wanting to pry any further. Especially when it was clear Gray didn't want to talk about it.

Cana wasn't quite as tactful. "She was a manipulative bi-"

Cana's words were cut off by the door bell.

"I got it," Gray said, already heading for the door as he spoke.

Juvia's eyes followed him.

"I didn't think Gray did dating," Lyon commented, and Juvia shot him a reproachful frown.

Cana scoffed. "If only."

"Cana," Erza warned. "He didn't in high school, but his first year of college he met Daphne and they dated for four months before things ended rather… unpleasantly."

"That's an understatement," Cana said with an eye roll. "He's pretty much sworn off any time of romantic interaction since."

"Only because the first few attempts after were…." Erza trailed off and glanced towards the front door where Gray was taking the coats of a young couple and attempting to coax their child to take her own off.

The small girl was stubbornly hiding behind her mother's legs and shaking her head.

Neither of her parents could seem to get her to move either, each attempt prompting the girl to cling tighter to her coat.

Juvia slipped through the small group towards the door, stopping behind Gray and placing a hand on his shoulder.

He blinked at her, seeming surprised to see her there.

"Mind if I try?" She asked, smiling as she glanced between Gray and the nervous set of parents.

"Uh, sure," Gray shrugged. "Alzack, Bisca, this is Juvia. She's Lyon's girlfriend. Juvia these are some of our new neighbours, Alzack and Bisca; and their daughter Asuka."

"Nice to meet you," Juvia said offering them another warm smile. She turned her gaze to Asuka and smiled even wider, before wiggling her fingers in greeting.

"Nice to meet you too," Bisca said, smiling back. She then glanced behind Juvia and offered a small wave.

When Juvia glanced back at the group, Erza and Jellal were waving back.

"Sorry, normally she's pretty social, but we've never brought her out to a party this big before," Alzack said, smiling down at Asuka.

Bisca nodded. "We weren't planning to bring her but the sitter cancelled at the last-minute. Your parents said it was fine, but maybe we should skip this one."

"Nonsense," Juvia said, crouching down so that she was at eye level with Asuka "I'm sure it's a little overwhelming, right? There's all these random strangers you haven't met before."

Asuka peeked out from behind her mother's legs to peer at Juvia.

Juvia waved at her again, and this time was rewarded with a small wave back.

"My name's Juvia, what's yours?"

"Asuka" she mumbled.

"That's a pretty name. Are you hungry Asuka?" Juvia asked.

She nodded.

"Well, if it's okay with your mom, we can sneak into the kitchen and get you a plate of food. No one's supposed to go in there, but I think we can make an exception for the sheriff." Juvia nodded towards the gold star badge pinned on Asuka's shirt.

Asuka's eyes widened and she broke out into a large grin and looked up at her mom. "Can I Mama?"

Bisca smiled down at her. "Sure, how about I come with you and help."

Asuka nodded, her wavy hair bouncing around her cute chubby cheeks.

Juvia smile and stretched her hand forward, palm up.

Asuka stepped forward and took it without hesitation.

A warm feeling of pride swelled in Juvia's chest, as she rose to guide Asuka and Bisca towards the kitchen.

It never ceased to amaze her how easily children trusted. It was a precious trait, one Juvia believe needed to be nurtured and protected.

She caught Gray's eye as she passed by and he flashed her a small smile. Her heart fluttered at the sight and she smiled back.

She needed to talk to someone about her feelings. It felt like she was out in the middle of a frozen lake; walking across thin ice and any minute now it would crack, and she'd fall in.

She turned away and tried not to think about it.

* * *

"Wow, she's good with kids," Erza said, watching as Juvia lead Asuka and Bisca down the hall.

"I'll say," Alzack agree, giving Erza a brief hug and shaking hands with Jellal. He nodded a greeting to the others.

Gray had come up behind him, but his eyes were glued down that hall.

Lyon tried not to concern himself with it. They were at a party, and Gray seemed to be uncomfortable earlier when Cana had assumed he was dating Juvia. It was weird, but as Cana pointed out, things tended to change when you leave.

He sighed and turned his attention back to the group. "She ought to be, she's training to be an ECE so it only makes sense that she'd have a way with them. Plus she helped out back home."

"She's got younger siblings then?" Erza asked.

Lyon grimaced. "Something like that."

"See something you like?" Cana asked, elbowing Gray in the side. She grinned as he whipped his head around.

"What? No," Gray snapped, the tips of his ears going red.

"Really?" Cana drawled, with a sly grin. "Cause it totally looked like you were checking out her ass."

Gray glared at Cana. "What about asses?" Mered asked as he draped an arm around Cana's shoulders. A Corona bottle dangled from his hand.

Jellal cleared his throat and shot Mered a reproachful glare.

"Ah ah, we're on private property. 'Sides Silver said I could." Mered grinned and turned his head back to Cana. "Now, what about asses?"

Cana's grin widened as she glanced at Mered. "I caught Gray staring at Juvia's."

"Oh?" Mered said, raising an eyebrow at Gray before flashing Lyon a wicked grin.

"I was not staring!" Several heads whipped around in Gray's direction, and a vibrant blush blossomed across his cheeks. "I was just admiring how she handled Asuka."

"Sure. 'Cause you've always had such a vested interest in children," Cana said.

"I'm sure Gray's admiration of Juvia was of her character, not her assets." Erza planted her hands on her hips, and let her eyes sweep over everyone, daring them to challenge her. "After all, he was nothing but respectful when he told me about her."

Lyon rolled his eyes. Erza had been talking Gray up to Juvia all night, acting like he was some kind of ShamWow product, and dismissing anything said against him.

Cana raised her eyebrows. "He was talking to you about her?"

Gray face palmed. "Whatever you're thinking; it's not like that."

"Uh huh, suuurrre," Mered said. "You let her call you out in the kitchen earlier and even put up a fight. Anyone else would have gotten their heads bitten off."

"Trust me, she's gotten her head bitten off. She just bites back." Gray's whole face was red, and his shoulders bunched up, as he glared back and forth between Cana and Mered.

Lyon kinda enjoyed watching Gray squirm. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who'd picked up on Gray's interest. Juvia kept insisting there was nothing going on, but Lyon wasn't convinced, and since she wasn't around, he felt like he might be able to get some answers.

"She does, but you have been pretty attentive towards her these last few days. You also let her pass out on you Thursday night," Lyon said, keeping his face as impassive as possible.

"Oh my God," Cana said, smacking Gray on the arm, "Gray, you like her!"

"What?" Gray squawked, staring at Cana incredulously. His head whipped around and he looked eyes with Lyon looking panicked. He shook his head and choked out his next words. "I don't."

Lyon stared back and folded his arms over his chest. Inside his heart was hammering. The way Gray was looking at him, the way Gray was talking; Lyon wasn't even sure who Gray was trying to convince.

Gray gulped. "I swear, I wouldn't…. Look, she's sweet, and kind, and yeah, I like the fact that she treats me like a person. It's nice not to be written off as the world's biggest asshole, just 'cause she's dating you, but she's madly in love with you."

Lyon risked a glance at Mered and caught him glaring at the floor. Lyon's gut twisted, and he fought the urge to reach out and touch him.

"It's ridiculous, actually," Gray continued. "I didn't think anyone could be more devoted to you than Sherry, but Juvia's just…." He shook his head. "I'd be an idiot to try and mess with that."

Lyon's expression softened, and the teasing grin fell from Cana and Mered's lips.

The was a tone of resignation there, and Lyon didn't know what to make of it. Gray's frustration over Juvia's supposed infatuation was palpable, but it was clear he had no intention of acting on it.

Everything resonated as a little too honest, leaving Lyon feeling uncomfortable; almost guilty.

Gray was always so guarded, so closed off, especially from him, and yet, right now, it felt like he'd laid himself bare before them all.

Erza placed a gentle hand on Gray's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with admiring someone Gray."

"I know," Gray said, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't want whatever this is, to blow up in my face."

Erza nodded solemnly.

Lyon bit his lip. A part of him wanted to tell Gray to back off, and remind Gray that Juvia was his. Except he couldn't, and not just because Juvia wasn't actually his girlfriend. He'd never seen Gray like this. He'd always thought that Gray being jealous of him would feel good, empowering even.

It didn't. In fact, it felt pretty damn shitty.

"Okay, we're all way too sober for this shit. Go grab me a bottle of tequila and shot glasses before someone starts singing Kumbaya," Cana said, shoving Gray towards the kitchen.

Gray frowned at her, but his lips were twitching as he fought off a smile. "Fine, I'll go get your drunk ass some tequila."

"I said a bottle, and make sure you grab enough tequila glasses for all of us," Cana said, grinning back at Gray.

"How the hell do you figure I'm gonna carry all that by myself?" Gray griped.

Cana shrugged. "Not my problem."

Jellal sighed and shook his head. "I'll give you a hand."

"No, I got it," Lyon said holding up his hand to halt Jellal. "Stay here and enjoy the party, you're a guest after all."

The group fell silent and stared, wide-eyed at Lyon.

"Did you just offer to help him?" Alzack asked.

"Talk about a Christmas miracle," Cana breathed, glancing back and forth between Gray and Lyon in awe.

Lyon rolled his eyes. "More like a Juvia miracle."

"Really? Well good for her," Erza said, a proud little smile resting on her lips.

"Okay, okay, hop too it already. The rest of us are waiting," Mered snapped, shoeing them with his hand.

Lyon frowned at him, but Mered refused to meet his gaze.

"Yeah, whatever," Lyon grumbled. He turned and headed towards the kitchen and Gray followed after him.

Lyon was sure it was a bad idea to mix tequila shots with all the emotional baggage that seemed to be floating around, but he got the feeling that all of them were at the point of not giving a fuck, and he had to admit he was right there with them.

* * *

"-thinking of taking her to see The Lion King in the summer when it comes-" Bisca's words came to a halt as she glanced over Juvia's shoulder.

Juvia turned as well and glowered at the intruders. "What are you two looking for?"

Lyon halted as she met his gaze, but Gray swung around him and headed to the pantry beside the fridge. He reached up to pop open the same cupboard he had Wednesday night.

"You're not supposed to be in here," Asuka chided, frowning at them. She was already feeling more at home, and was eager to exert her new found courage.

"I know, we're just grabbing shot glasses and supplies. Cana's demanding tequila." Gray reached up, his shirt riding high as he stretched to grab the shot glasses.

Juvia's eyes flickered down the the small strip of exposed skin. She didn't let her gaze linger, not wanting to be caught, but one glance at Lyon and she knew she hadn't been quick enough.

Lyon shook his head and pulled open the fridge door. He dug into one of the crispers and pulled out a couple limes. Then brought them over to the island where Juvia, Asuka and Bisca were gathered.

He gave Juvia a small hip check as he came up beside her and smiled. "Hand me a knife?"

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him. She was relieved that he wasn't making a big deal about catching her ogling Gray. That didn't mean she was about start doing his bidding to keep it that way.

"Seriously?" Gray scoffed, appearing on the other side of Juvia with two large stacks of shot glasses.

He set them down before reaching across the island to pluck a steak knife from the knife block and handed it to Lyon.

Juvia bit back a comment about that being the wrong knife.

"That's a lot of shot glasses." She eyed the stack again taking count. Twelve seemed excessive. There had only been six of them; eight if you counted Alzack and Bisca.

Gray smirked. "Yeah, I got a text from Natsu saying they're here."

Juvia immediately lit up. She turned to rush to the front door only to find Gajeel standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

He grinned and cackled at Juvia. "Whatcha doing hiding in the kitchen? There's a party going on out there."

Juvia rolled her eyes and leaned back against the counter. "I'm not hiding. I was getting acquainted with our new sheriff and getting her some food before she starts her shift." She turned her head to smile at Asuka.

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel said, peering around Juvia to smile at Asuka as well.

Asuka shrunk back and pressed into Bisca's side as Gajeel peered at her.

"Geez Gajeel, she's scared just looking at you," Lyon teased.

"Can't really blame her can you?" Gray said.

Juvia glared at Lyon and swatted Gray's arm. "Be nice." She turned so that she was facing Asuka and smiled, leaning part way across the counter on her forearms. "You're not scared of him right? I know he looks big and scary, but he's actually quite a softy."

Gray scoffed and Asuka eyed Juvia, not quite believing her.

Juvia bit her lip. Clearly this was going to take a different approach. "Asuka have you ever watched Black Beauty?"

Asuka's eyes widened and she nodded excitedly.

"Only a million times." Bisca smiled down at her daughter.

"Well, Gajeel is kinda like Ginger. At first he seems mean, but that's only because everyone else has been mean to him, so he's not very trusting," Juvia explained. "But, if you're nice to him, over time he's nice back."

Asuka's eyes darted Gajeel, scrutinizing him.

Juvia glanced over her shoulder and her eyes met Gajeel's. "He might even become one of your best friends. Right?"

Gajeel was still about an arm's length back from the island; keeping his distance. He let his eyes drift to Asuka, then back to Juvia before letting out a long whicker.

The kitchen went silent as Gray and Lyon stared at Gajeel in shock.

Asuka's eyes lit up before she erupted into pleased giggles.

Gajeel flashed Asuka a huge smile, and eased his way around the counter. As he approached, he clopped his foot against the ground and continued to whicker and neigh as he approached.

Asuka watched him; completely enchanted.

Lyon was staring at him like he'd gone crazy.

Gray, however, was fighting not to laugh. He clamped a hand over his mouth as Gajeel tossed his head back and let out a particularly loud neigh.

Juvia waited until Gajeel was almost within arm's reach of Asuka before she spoke up. "You know, If you reach out your hand, he might let you touch him. But you have to do it slowly, otherwise he might get frightened."

Asuka tore her gaze from Gajeel and stared at Juvia in disbelief. "Really?"

"Really. He can be quite skittish," Juvia said.

Asuka turned back to Gajeel and began to extend her arm towards him.

Gajeel watched her like a hawk, and even pulled back a bit as her arm got closer.

Asuka halted the motion when he did. "It's okay, I'm not mean."

Gajeel eyed her, before nodding and inched his face towards her outstretched hand, until her tiny fingers brushed against his nose.

Asuka let out a small gasp at the contact and then broke into a huge smile. Her fingers traced up his nose and across his eyebrows, brushing over the piercings with mild curiosity. "Do they hurt?"

Gajeel shook his head and continued to stare at her, with his lips curled into a small smile. He let her continue to touch at pet him, moving a bit closer so that she could reach out and play with his hair.

"You know, if you ask nicely, he might let you ride him around. Then you can go and check if all the guests are safe and having a good time," Juvia said.

Asuka whipped around. "Can I? Can I, please?"

Juvia couldn't help but giggle at her enthusiasm. "You don't need my permission, you need his. And your Mom's."

Asuka stared up at Bisca with pleading puppy dog eyes. "Please Mom?"

Bisca laughed as well. "You can if he lets you, and only if you promise to listen if he tells you something okay?"

Asuka nodded vigorously.

"Well then I guess you have to ask him," Bisca said.

Asuka turned and stared up at Gajeel's looming figure. "Mr. Gajeel, can I please ride you?"

Gajeel grinned down at her. "Sure."

As he turned around and bent down, Juvia slipped around the counter and helped Asuka stand on the chair so she could reach above Gajeel's shoulders.

"On the count of three I'll help you climb on okay." Juvia tucked her hands into Asuka's arm pits as Asuka nodded her understanding. "One. Two. Three!"

Juvia hoisted Asuka into the air, before settling her down on Gajeel's shoulders. She continued to hold onto Asuka as Gajeel gripped her legs and rose to his full height.

"Okay, now you're gonna have to hold on tight okay. No hair pulling," Juvia instructed, letting go of Asuka one hand at a time. She encouraged Asuka to grip Gajeel's forehead and hair, fussing until she was sure the girl was snug. "You good?"

"Yeah!" Asuka cried.

Gajeel whinnied, and nodded his head.

"Well then, do you know the words to get him going?" Juvia asked.

"Giddy up horsy!" Asuka cried.

Gajeel whinnied, then trotted out of the kitchen, ducking low to the ground as they passed through the doorway towards the den.

"Oh my god, I did not just witness Gajeel pretending to be a horse," Lyon croaked.

Gray waited a moment longer before finally bursting into a fit of laughter. "Who'd've thought, right?"

Juvia scowled at both of them.

"We grew up in an orphanage, there were close to ten kids in the place at all times. We didn't get along with most of the kids our age, but as we got older we did our best to look after some of the younger ones." She shrugged. "Gajeel's always had a soft spot for kids, and animals. They don't judge him based on how he looks."

That silenced the two of them.

Bisca smiled. "I think he's sweet. And it's good to see at least one healthy sibling relationship around here." She eyed Gray and Lyon. "You two could learn a thing or two from them."

"Already started to," Gray smiled and jerked his thumb in Lyon's direction. "He even slipped called himself my brother earlier."

Lyon looked incensed, and averted his gaze from the group, but he made no move to deny Gray's claim, or to amend it. "Yeah, well, I've got the limes. Grab the shot glasses and let's get this party started."

Juvia watched as Gray did as instructed and followed the two of them back out to the party, with Bisca right beside her. Anyone else might have missed it, but Juvia managed to catch the small smile that mirrored Gray's twitching at the corner of Lyon's lips.

She took a deep breath and decided that maybe she didn't need to worry so much about what Gray knew. Maybe she ought to just relax and enjoy the night. They were getting along, and whatever Gray knew he clearly wasn't gonna bring it up, so why worry.

* * *

Once Juvia relaxed, the rest of the night had gone much smoother. It helped that with the extra additions to the group Erza's focus was no longer solely on Juvia, but it wasn't just that. All the girls seemed keen to include her in their conversations and get to know her.

It was different, but not in a bad way, and it was easy to talk and bond with them.

Of course, she became a whole lot more popular once the music got going. They pulled her out onto the makeshift dance floor with them and surrounded her, taking turns dancing with her.

The fact that Lyon was the only guy that came with them willingly had earned her a few pats on the back as well. But what really seemed to win them over, was when Juvia pried Gajeel from the wall and dragged him out to join them. It took a fair amount of prodding to get him let the tough guy act drop, and she'd had to slip away to make an unauthorized song change before he finally gave in. It was worth it though. The looks on everyone's face when he started breakdancing to Thriller was priceless.

Juvia couldn't help but smile, it was a well kept secret of hers that, while Gajeel couldn't sing worth a dime, he was an amazing dancer.

It wasn't long before Natsu joined in, not wanting to be outdone, only to end up face planting within a minute. Which resulting in Lucy dragging him upstairs to clean up his face.

Gray stuck to the sidelines, chatting with an orange haired man. Cana and Erza managed to coax him onto the dance floor every once in a while, getting him to bob along to the beat for a song before he returned to nursing a beer.

On his fourth attempt to sneak off the dance floor Juvia caught his wrist and tugged him back towards where she and Lyon had been dancing.

He kept his feet firmly planted, and leaned in so she could hear him over the blaring music. "I'm pretty sure you've already got a dance partner."

"So?" Juvia shrugged and glanced over her shoulder catching Lyon's eye. 'He won't dance.' She mouthed the words, knowing he'd never be able to hear her, even if he was only a couple feet away.

Lyon shrugged and held his hands up as if to ask what she wanted him to do about it.

'Help me make him.'

Lyon actually stopped dancing at that statement, and quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What did you just say?" Gray asked, panic evident in his voice as he tugged a little harder to free himself from her grip.

"You might as well give in now," Lyon said, as his hand landed on Juvia's waist. "She's stubborn as all hell when she wants something."

Gray frowned. "Why do you need me to dance with you? Lyon's a better dancer."

"So?" Juvia repeated, frustration starting to creep in a bit. "I want you to come have fun with us."

That caused Gray to pause and his gaze flickered to Lyon then back to her. His jaw clenched and she wondered exactly what it was Gray was holding back.

"Seriously? No one cares that you suck at it, but if it's bothering you that much I'll teach you a few moves," Lyon huffed.

Gray stilled and stared at him wide eyed. His cheek stained a healthy pink.

Understanding finally hit Juvia and she couldn't help but giggle. "That's what you're worried about?"

Gray glowered down at her. "Sure, laugh. You actually know what you're doing."

"Not really. I just move most of the time, but if you're that self-conscious we'll teach you," Juvia said, giving his arm another tug.

Gray continued to remain still, his eyes darting between them warily.

"Please." Juvia looked up at him and pouted.

"Fine," Gray said. "But you're not allowed to laugh."

Juvia beamed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Lyon stepped forward and draped an arm around Gray's shoulders. "Come on, lets see if you can finally learn something from me."

* * *

Juvia giggled as she and Cana rushed back into the house. They each set the bottles in their hands on the counter and began rubbing at their arms for warmth.

Juvia glanced at the clock and was surprised to find it was quarter past one. She hadn't expected the party to go this long. Sure, most of the older guests had left, but there were still a good number of people dancing and chatting the night away.

"I can't believe you actually got Gray to dance! I've been trying to get him to since seventh grade." Cana grabbed the bottle opener and began to pry the tops off the beers.

"That was ninety percent Lyon. I just dragged him back out onto the dance floor," Juvia said blowing on her hands.

"A feat, in and of, itself," Cana said, taking a swig from one of the bottles.

She thought it was odd, but Juvia had actually hit it off with Cana. She hadn't expected to. Cana was wild, she liked to drink, and she flirted with anyone and everyone she could. But she was easy to talk to, and a lot less inquisitive than the other girls. In fact, she seemed more interested in embarrassing Gray than anything else.

"Sure you don't want to do a shot?" Cana asked, waving at the bottle of vodka on the counter. "I'll do one with you."

Juvia shook her head. "I'm sure. I don't even know how you're still standing with all you've drank tonight."

"You build up a tolerance for it." Cana laughed and poured herself a shot anyways.

Juvia shook her head, but couldn't help but smile. "I'll bring these out to the guys, I think I'm getting second hand drunk at this point."

She grabbed two of the beers from the counter, one for Gray and one for Gajeel. She turned and headed the door to the den. "Don't forget to grab Jellal's beer when you're do-"

Juvia collided with something solid. The loss of momentum had her off kilter for a moment before strong arms wrapped around her waist and she found herself held tight to another person.

"Sorry," Gray murmured as he helped steady her.

"It's okay, I wasn't watching where I was going." Juvia glanced down at the floor and was relieved to see that not much of the beer had been spilled. She placed both bottles down on the counter beside her and called to Cana over her shoulder. "Can you toss me a towel?"

"Way to go Gray, spilling beer all over the place!" Cana hollered as she tossed one of the tea towels across the room.

Gray was the one to catch it and he crouched down to wipe up the spill, grumbling under his breath about Cana.

As he was doing so Erza came around the corner from the den, coming to a halt as she saw them. Her eyes took them in, then flickered upwards, before falling back onto them. Her arms folded across her chest and lips curled up into a smile.

Gray sighed and hauled himself upright. "You sure you're okay? I didn't spill anything on you right?"

Juvia shook her head, and stepped to the side as Gray stepped forward; presumably to throw the rag in the sink, or for whatever reason he came to the kitchen in the first place.

"Where do you think you're going?" Erza asked.

Gray turned and frowned at her. "To rinse the rag out? Juvia's fine, it doesn't look like Cana's been holding her hostage for shots."

"Not so fast, I think there's something you're forgetting." Her hand gestured upwards.

Both Gray and Juvia furrowed their brows at her.

From behind them Cana started cackling. "Oh my god! Haha, that's too perfect!"

Gray and Juvia glanced up to find themselves standing under the very same mistletoe Juvia and Lyon had been caught under earlier that day.

Juvia felt her face flush with heat as panic immediately kicked in. Of all the stupid things to happen to her this week this one had to take the cake. It was like agreeing to fake dating Lyon had opened up the karmic floodgates, and now she was getting stuck in every cliche situation imaginable.

"Well, whatcha waiting for Gray! Make a move man," Cana cheered.

Juvia's head whipped up to lock eyes with Gray and her heart hammered in her chest.

Gray glared at Cana, and then at Erza. Finally he sighed and met Juvia's gaze. He looked a little sad as his hand reached up and brushed some of her hair back behind her ear. "We don't have to do this."

Juvia swore her heart stopped in that moment.

"Yes you do. It's tradition! I won't let you go until you have." Erza widened her stance and planted her hands on her hips.

Gray groaned and glowered at her. "Erza drop it. I'm not forcing myself on her. If she doesn't want to kiss me she doesn't have to."

"It's not that I don't want to." The words were out of Juvia's mouth before she even had time to register them. The second she realized what she said she wanted to shove them back where they came from.

Gray froze. He blinked once, then again, as though he was sure he'd misheard. Finally he looked down at her, confusion written across his face. "What?"

"Um- I mean… you make it sound like I think it would be horrible to kiss you… and that's not true. I'm sure it would be fine- Just with Lyon and everything-"

"I don't see why Lyon would have a problem with it," Erza said, studying Juvia as she spoke. "After all, he's an actor, he kisses strange women all the time and you're fine with it. Why would it be any different for him?"

Juvia bit back a long string of curses. All these stupid lies were starting to catch up with her. She chewed on her lower lip, and caught Gray's stare out of the corner of her eye.

Would it be so wrong? Just one little kiss. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to, and this was the perfect excuse….

"I suppose it's not," she finally admitted. She let her eyes flick up to meet Gray's from under her lashes. His gaze dipped to her lips and she licked them

Gray gulped. "You still don't have to. I promi-"

"It's fine. It's just a quick kiss, right?" Juvia's fingers fiddled with the hem of her sweater.

"Right." Gray nodded and inched closer to her.

He reached up and his calloused fingers brushed against her jaw before coming to rest under her chin. He tilted her head up so she was looking straight into his eyes, and leaned in.

Juvia's breath hitched and her eyes fluttered shut as he closed the gap between them. His lips brushed against hers, light as a feather, before he was pulling back again. Juvia frowned as frustration lanced through her.

She hadn't meant that quick.

Her lips chased his, and her hand rose and grabbed the front of his shirt so he couldn't continue to withdraw. She crashed her lips against his, unthinking and uncaring, pressed herself against him.

He groaned, low and deep. His hand moved from her chin to tangle in her hair and his free hand gripped her hip. He kissed her back, his lips desperate and demanding.

Juvia's heart thundered against her chest. She barely registered Cana's holler of approval, as Gray pushed her back into the frame of the door. It should have bothered her; having an audience to this moment, but she couldn't bring herself to protest. Not when Gray was kissing her like he'd never get another chance to.

"What the hell!" Lyon's scream tore them apart faster than lightning.

Gray pulled back panting and stared at him wide-eyed and frightened. His hands flew up, ready for an onslaught that wasn't coming.

Juvia continued to lean against the door frame, trying to think of something to do, or say. She needed to act before this blew up, but her mind was still hazy.

Lyon was glaring back and forth between the two of them, hands clenched into fists at his side. A wave of guilt washed over Juvia as his eyes finally locked with hers. She could read the hurt there. The accusation was clear as day.

"Lyon-" before she could say anything else he spun on his heel and stormed back the way he came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay normally I don't add notes at the end but I thought I'd just say that if you're dying for some IKYSS while you wait, I will be posting snippets and updates on Tumblr under the tag ikyss. My user name is the same too, but you should just be able to search the tag since my blog is a bit all over the place. ^-^;


	21. Exposed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of skeletons start coming out of the closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I'm alive. Nano was successful, but life got in the way of editing. I'm fully going to blame this on karma, since the morning my life got flipped upside down I had an anon come crying to me about having to wait longer than a month for an update and initially I was livid and ready to just drop editing for a while until I calmed down, but I didn't want to keep the rest of you sweethearts waiting.
> 
> I did manage to get back into the right mindset and was determined to get the chapter done, only to find out my father had spent the night in jail and I spent the rest of my Friday bailing him out and the weekend dealing with that disaster. (This was actually meant to be up this afternoon and yet another issue cropped up and ate up all my time before work. -_-)
> 
> Long story short, I have a permanent house guest for a while now and he takes up a lot of my time, so it's been difficult finding time for myself.
> 
> I also want to add that despite my promise to myself that I'd never do it again this chapter broke 10k, and the next one is over 8k so that was part of the wait.
> 
> The good news is that Chapter 22 is written, and just needs to be edited. I'm going on my honeymoon in exactly a week and I won't be back until the 20th but I'll try to have it up for the 22nd. No promises though, since life is crazy and I've got to get everything together for my vacation on top of that, but once it's edited I'll have it up.

Juvia lurched after Lyon. Her heart was in her throat and reality was setting in. She made it halfway towards the den before stopping dead and whirling around to face Gray.

"I'm sorry," Juvia said in a rush. "I promise, I'll explain. I just- I need to go after him."

Gray frowned, but he nodded.

Juvia waited another moment for him to say something, but he didn't. She swallowed hard and fought against the urge to rush back and kiss him again. For once she wanted to say fuck it all, but her conscience won out.

She spun on her heel and raced to catch Lyon. She weaved through the crowd and made it to the front hall just as Lyon finished lacing his boots.

As he rose, he caught sight of her and frowned. He grabbed his coat from where it was dropped and wrenched open the door as he slung it across his shoulders.

Juvia rushed forward and grabbed her boots and coat from the closet. She shoved her feet into the boots, and was out the door, hopping and juggling her jacket as she tried to get her boots on right, while still keeping Lyon in sight. The cold bit into her skin, but she ignored it. She hoped she'd left her gloves and hat in her pockets, but it was too late to go back and grab them if she hadn't.

Instead she stumbled after Lyon onto the barely lit street, and hoped he'd wasn't planning on going too far.

* * *

Lyon could hear Juvia scrambling to keep up with him. The thud of her boots against the pavement, and the occasional crunch of ice, mixed with her laboured breathing were constant confirmations of her presence. He refused to slow down though.

His thoughts were a mess, and a dozen negative emotions bubbled beneath the surface, ready to boil over the second he stopped.

He was livid. Furious, and feeling betrayed, even though he knew he shouldn't be. Not this much. Yes, she'd kissed Gray, but it wasn't like he hadn't seen it coming. Lyon knew she'd developed feelings for him. Hell, with the way Gray was talking tonight, Lyon was pretty sure it wasn't the least bit one-sided.

He took a deep breath, the cold air burned his nose and throat, but he relished it, along with the smell of pine needles. He glanced around, realizing he'd stormed straight into the park at the end of the street.

It didn't surprise him. He use to come here all the time in high school, any time he'd had a bad day, or whenever Gray had friends over. He glanced at the playground up ahead, and slowed his pace a little. The sight of it eased his mind.

When he thought about the way Gray genuinely seemed to care about Juvia, it didn't bother him. It was actually a bit sweet, and probably the main reason Lyon hadn't straight out decked Gray.

But at the same time, Gray had made it clear he wasn't going to get in the way of Juvia's relationship. So then what the hell was that kiss? Sure, Juvia and Lyon weren't together, but Gray didn't know that. What exactly did Juvia think was going to come of this? And what if someone else had walked in on them?

Had this been what she wanted to tell him earlier? That she was tired of keeping up with their act? That she wanted to call it off?

"Can we please stop and talk about this already?" Juvia huffed.

Lyon clenched his teeth, but halted. His hands clenched and his nails bit painfully into the palm of his hands, reminding him that he hadn't even put on gloves while running out the door. He fished his gloves out of his pockets, and pulled them on.

Snow crunched under Juvia's boots as she came to a halt behind him, but she didn't reach out for him.

For that Lyon was grateful.

Finally he turned to face Juvia.

She was standing about two feet away from him, shivering. Her coat's buttons were askew and she alternated between rubbing her bare hands together for warmth and trying to unbutton them.

Lyon rolled his eyes. "Didn't you grab gloves?"

Juvia shook her head. She'd managed to get her coat undone, but was struggling to button it properly.

Lyon huffed and stomped over to her. "Stick your hands in your pockets before they go numb."

Juvia did as she was told, quietly waiting as Lyon buttoned her coat for her. Her fingers hurt and she clenched her fists in an attempt to warm them. Lyon took a step back once she was done, and Juvia met his gaze. "Lyon, I'm so sorry."

"Are you?" He asked as he glared back at her.

Juvia flinched.

"'Oh Lyon, I swear there's nothing going on between us'." Lyon mocked, voice going high to mimic her. "That was a load of bullshit. When are you gonna stop lying to me about everything?"

Juvia frowned and opened her mouth to protest. Instead she clenched her jaw and slammed her eyes shut. She took one deep breath, then another before her shoulders sagged and the tension fled her body. When she opened her eyes again she was staring at her feet instead of him. "I wasn't- I didn't plan for it to go like this."

Lyon carded his hand through his hair, only to find the sensation of thick leather fingers more agitating than soothing. He let out a long frustrated exhale. "Maybe not, but you can't tell me you didn't want it to. You're not oblivious to this shit."

"Okay, I get it!" Juvia snapped. Her head fell back and she stared up at the sky eyes closed and teeth gritted. "Yes, I wanted him to kiss me, I have for a while."

Lyon's scowl deepened. How long was a while? And why did he get the feeling there was more that she wasn't telling him. "A while? I knew you liked him, but I thought you had it under control."

"So did I," Juvia mumbled.

"Well turns out you didn't, and neither did Gray apparently." Lyon threw his hands up in the air and began to pace the pathway. "You know, a couple hours ago he was going on about not coming between us? Clearly that went right out the window at the first chance he got."

"Lyon…."

"You know I almost believed that he respected me. That he genuinely cared about how I felt-"

"Lyon! Stop! This wasn't his fault." Juvia planted herself in front of Lyon's path, grabbing his arms to stop him. She gave him a pleading look. "He wasn't even gonna kiss me. I said okay and then he barely pecked me and I… I lost myself."

Lyon wrenched out of her grasp, frustrated with the idea that Juvia was willing to shoulder the blame on this. "He sure as hell had no problem going along with it."

"No, but I don't think-"

"You don't think what? That he had a choice in the matter? He had you pressed up against the wall, not the other way around," Lyon hissed.

Juvia's palm smacked against Lyon's chest shoving him hard enough that he stumbled backwards. "Stop being an asshole and listen to me!"

Lyon stared at her wide-eyed, his whole body tense from the push. She'd never used force with him before, not while they were fighting.

"I think Gray knows you're gay."

"What! How?"

"I don't know! I tried telling you earlier; after that fight with your Mom…. I just, I feel like he knows," Juvia said, staring at him warily.

Lyon glared at her. "And how the hell would he have found out?"

It was one thing from Ultear to know, but Gray was a whole other ballgame. One that Lyon was terrified of unleashing.

"Are you seriously implying that I told him?" Juvia asked, glaring back at him. "Because I'm pretty sure he's known for a while now."

Lyon's gloved hands sunk into his hair, pulling at it in frustration. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. As mad as he was he knew Juvia would never out him on purpose. "No, I'm not. I just don't see how he could know, and you keep saying a while but, like, when is that? You just figured it out tonight, so how do you figure he's known for longer?

"Uh, we were out all night on Wednesday. We didn't get home until like three and well…." Lyon shifted uncomfortably as he remembered kissing her, much the way Gray had been earlier.

"Yeah, I know, but after we-" Juvia blushed. "When you feel asleep, I couldn't, so I went downstairs. Gray had heard us, and he went down to talk to me and well... he sad it was a problem with you and Sherry."

Lyon rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest.

"I told him off for it, told him that I'd take you over my other options anyways because at least you loved me and wouldn't leave me for an nicer rack. And he kinda implied…" Juvia bit her lip.

"He implied?" Lyon prompted.

"He said 'Not for a nicer rack.'"

Lyon swallowed and let the comment wash over him. It was a typical jab, the kind of thing Bacchus would say. "He was being an ass."

"I thought so too, but after what he said to your mom…. Do you really believe that?" Juvia asked.

Lyon sighed and scratched the back of his neck. He stared at the empty swing set and before he could think about it his feet carried him to them.

The chains gave a loud cachuck as he collapsed onto one of the the swing seats.

Juvia had followed him and eased herself down to perch on the remaining swing, keeping her hands stuffed deep into her pockets.

Lyon sat there for a minute, staring up at the sky in contemplation. His foot pushed against the ground rocking him back and forth. Finally he looked at her. "No, I guess I don't."

"I don't either. And it's not the first time he said something like that. When we were out at the mall and you were talking to Chelia he made a similar comment. The only thing I can think of that makes any sense is that he knows you're gay, and he thinks I don't know."

Lyon nodded. It fit what Gray had said earlier, about Juvia being devoted to him and the frustration he felt over the whole thing. But that meant Gray's known for a while, and left the question of how?

It couldn't have been Juvia, and if Gray was making comments as early as the mall, then nothing from Wednesday tipped him off. Had Ultear known before? Had she known all along, and never said anything? It didn't make sense though. For her to say nothing to him but then tell Gray, and to leave out the fact that Juvia knew….

That applied to Mered too. But no one else kne-

"You said he said something about Chelia right?" Lyon asked, his mind connecting the dots.

Juvia leaned against the cold metal chain and nodded. "He found it odd that I was comfortable leaving you alone with her." Juvia frowned. "Actually, he was pretty freaked out that I'd leave you alone with Sherry too."

"That's because Sherry was the one to tell him."

"Why would Sherry tell him?"

Lyon sighed and fished out his phone from his coat pocket, and stilled the swing. "I'm not sure, but who else could it be?"

Juvia bit her lip and shrugged.

Lyon pulled off his glove, and began scrolling through his contacts.

"What are you doing?" Juvia asked.

Lyon found Sherry's name and clicked the call button. "Finding out for sure."

The phone rang. Once, twice, three times; Lyon was almost certain it was about to go to voicemail when he heard the line go clear.

"Mm, hello?" Sherry's voice was rough and dazed as though she'd just woken up.

Guilt bubbled up in Lyon's chest. He'd forgotten that it was the middle of the night. "Um, hey Sherry."

"Lyon?"

In the background he could hear a man's voice grumble, "What the hell does he want?"

"Yeah. Look I'm sorry for calling so late." He was about to tell her he'd call back, but then he remember exactly why he'd called in the first place. Frustration and annoyance overrode ingrained courtesy. "Did you tell Gray I was gay?"

There was a pause, and he could hear the covers shuffling on the other end. "He told you?"

Well that answered that question, but it brought up quite a few more.

"When did you tell him? Why the hell would you tell him? Why didn't you think to tell me?" Lyon spat.

"Lyon…." Juvia warned. He glanced over at her and she shook her head. "Ease off."

Lyon scowled at her, but took a deep breath and tried to calm down. The damage was already done, now all he could do was try to find a way to mitigate it as much as possible. For that he needed answers. "Sorry, I just… there's kinda a lot going on right now and this definitely complicates things even more than they already are. Which freaks me out and I really need to know where the hell I stand in this mess."

"Can't you ask Gray?" Sherry asked.

"Not really, no." Lyon jiggled his leg, and the chains rattled with the movement. More than anything he wanted to reach through the phone and strangle his ex. She wasn't being particularly helpful.

Sherry sighed. "Fine, give me a minute." He heard more shuffling and then her voice, only fainter. "Sorry, I'll take this into the other room. Go back to sleep."

"Why was he yelling at you?" Ren grumbled.

"I accidentally told his brother something I shouldn't have. I promise it's nothing serious, go back to sleep," Sherry said.

Ren grumbled something Lyon couldn't hear, and again there was creaking and the rustle of sheets. Finally Lyon caught him say, "Stay in bed, I'll make us some coffee."

"But-"

"Lyon?" Juvia peered over at him in concern.

Lyon pulled the phone away from his ear. "She's talking to Ren."

Juvia nodded, and fidgeted on her swing. She pulled her hands out of her coat and ran them along her arms.

Lyon had to give it to her, she was sticking around to see this through even though she must have been freezing.

"Lyon? Are you there?" Sherry's voice called out.

Lyon returned the phone to his ear. "Yeah, sorry. Everything okay?"

"Um, yeah…. Ren's just being a bit over protective," she admitted.

"It's fine. I guess I can understand it from his perspective."

"I promise he won't say anything to anyone! He doesn't usually talk much anyways."

Lyon let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah Chelia mentioned something about that."

Sherry giggled. "Yeah, she's not a fan, but she's been better since talking to you."

"Well that's good." Lyon leaned into the chain feeling a bit more at ease. The line was silent for a moment and Lyon picked at the hem of his coat, waiting to let her compose herself.

"I swear it was an accident."

Lyon hummed in response. He wasn't sure how one accidentally outs their ex, let alone to his homophobic brother, but he doubted interrupting would get him a faster answer.

"We ran into each other a few weeks after you left, and he was livid. Came up to me and started tearing into me about the whole thing," Sherry said.

"He did?" Lyon had known that Gray was upset about it, but he didn't think Gray's concern extended that far. For Gray to go out of his way and confront Sherry was something Lyon hadn't expected.

"Mhmm, at first he caught me off guard and I just stood there. I'd felt so guilty for so long, but I was hurt when you left. Heartbroken even. I snapped."

She took a deep breath. Lyon could hear the clunk of something being set down and the bed groaning under added weight. "I thought he knew. That he, and Bacchus, and the others had said all those things because they knew, and suddenly I was yelling back at him. I yelled at him because I couldn't yell at you."

Lyon felt guilt churn in his stomach all over again.

He regretted the way things ended with Sherry. He'd hurt her far more than she'd ever hurt him, and he could only imagine how upset and frustrated she would have been, being confronted like that, once she knew the truth. Her cheating on him had given him the out he needed. Proof that the whole thing wasn't working for her either.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled. "I didn't think he'd bother. If I had I would have told him to leave you alone. I mean, I forced my mom to, and that wasn't an easy feat."

Sherry let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, well, she still glares at me if she sees me."

Lyon grimaced. "Sorry, I'll talk to-"

"Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal." There was a moment's pause over the line. "Gray promised he wouldn't say anything until he talked to you. I made him swear it and he didn't put up much of a fight. He actually looked like he'd seen a ghost."

Lyon swallowed hard. He'd been home for days now and Gray hadn't said a thing about it. Sure, they hadn't been alone much, but Lyon figured that would be the kind of thing Gray would be itching to get off his chest. Especially if he'd kept it a secret for two whole years.

Why Gray hadn't was beyond him, but Lyon had to admit Juvia was right. Gray had changed. Why, Lyon wasn't sure; maybe it was guilt, maybe something more more….

"He never mentioned it," Lyon confessed. "Then how did you-"

"Juvia figured it out. He's been talking to her, and some of the things he's said finally added up today."

"Oh." There was a pause on the other end. "But isn't she your girlfriend?"

Lyon laughed. "No! God no. I learned my lesson on that. She's my best friend, but we get mistaken for a couple a lot, so I begged her to be my beard. Didn't want to come back here and face this hell hole alone, and she's crazy, so she agreed."

Juvia snorted indignantly.

He could hear Sherry let out a long exhale of relief. "Thank God. I was ready to kill you when Chelia told me you had a new girlfriend."

"Well, put away your pitchfork. She knows."

"Good." There was another long pause. "Shouldn't you both be at home right now? The party's tonight right?"

Lyon grimace. "Yeah, I should actually head back. I just…. Shit happened, I needed some air."

Sherry hummed. "I really am sorry I didn't tell you about it. I just figured you'd freak out. Things were already bad between us, I didn't want to make it worse."

"It's fine. I mean, no real harm done. I don't think he's told anyone." Lyon said.

"I'm glad. Chelia said you promised to stop by before you left?" Sherry prompted.

Lyon sighed and carded his hand through his hair. "Yeah I did, is that okay? If it's not I can figure someth-"

"It's fine, it would be good to see you again." She said. "I miss you."

Lyon smiled. "Yeah? Me too. And it would be nice to get a chance to meet your future hubby. He sounds like a good guy."

"Maybe pop by next week sometime? Once things quiet down?" Sherry let out a loud yawn.

"For sure." Lyon nodded even though she couldn't see it. "I should let you get back to sleep, I'll text you after Christmas and we can make plans."

"Sounds good."

"Night Sherry."

"Night Lyon, good luck with Gray."

"Thanks." Lyon pulled the phone from his ear and clicked to end the call. He let his arm drop and shifted so he could stuff his phone back into his coat pocket.

"That seemed to go well, and you got the answers we needed," Juvia said.

Lyon glanced her way, and they locked eyes.

She smiled at him, but she was visibly shivering having been out in the cold for too long while under-dressed.

They needed to head back, but there was still something niggling at the back of Lyon's mind. Something that said he didn't quite have all the pieces yet. He screwed up all of his courage and decided it was time to dive straight in. No more pussyfooting around. "Yeah, about that. Are you ready to tell me the truth about you and Gray?"

Juvia's eyes widened. "W-what?"

Lyon stared back at her, unwilling to buy into the charade any longer. "Juvia, I know you're keeping something from me, I just don't know what. I know you like Gray, and you know, I'm not even that upset about it…. So just tell me the truth, whatever it is, so we can figure out a plan and go home before you freeze to death."

Juvia blushed and looked away, instead focusing on the field of snow before them. She stared out at it, her breath fogging against the darkness.

Lyon huffed impatiently, certain she wasn't gonna say anything.

"He kissed me."

Lyon rolled his eyes. "Yeah I kinda noticed."

Juvia shook her head. "Before. Wednesday night, actually."

"I'm sorry, what?" Lyon stared at her in disbelief. Tonight wasn't the first time they'd kissed?

"He…." Juvia let out a long breath and turned to look at Lyon. Her right hand rose to brush against the back of her neck, and she blushed. "I broke down in the downstairs bathroom. I think he heard me, he was frustrated with you, and told me I deserved better after looking after you all night. I threw the things you told me about him in his face and then I- I threw what Bora did in his face too, and he just…."

Tears were pooling in Juvia's eyes and she brushed them away.

Lyon's heart clenched. He remembered how she'd broken down the next morning, how guilty she'd felt. It never occurred to him that she'd been unable to sleep; that she might have needed comfort that night. He frowned at the thought of Gray taking advantage of her in that moment.

Juvia's eyes locked with Lyon's. "He looked me in the eyes and told me I deserved better than that too."

Or Gray could have told her exactly what she needed to hear, and some how managed to comfort her in her time of need. A part of Lyon felt put out by the fact that it was Gray that had been there for her, but mostly he felt grateful that someone had been there at all.

"After that there was a tequila shot, because he thought I'd taken you out to get you drunk, and then I stupidly told him that I'd taken you out to dance, and suddenly there was Hozier, and he was asking me to dance, and the kitchen was all moonlit and I don't know what he was thinking, and I knew it was going to lead to trouble, but I just…. I wanted to feel wanted. You know?" Juvia pleaded.

Lyon nodded, as he rose off the swing. Of course he knew what that felt like, it'd been the entire reason he'd kissed her in the first place. Long strides brought him to her, and he bent to wrap her in a hug.

"It's okay," he whispered in her ear. "I get it."

He held her like that for a few moments before pulling away and crouching in front of her. He gingerly wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"There was this small brush of his lips against the back of my neck and I- I thought it was a mistake, but then he kissed me again, and I freaked. I freaked and I bolted, and he didn't come after me, and I kinda just thought that was that. That it was a mistake, some crazy in the moment thing, and he's been so careful not to let it happen again, or to get too close…."

Lyon's thumb brushed over her hand.

Juvia took a deep breath. "Realizing that all this time he's been trying to warn me, that he knew and he wanted to say something, but respected you enough not to and me enough to keep his distance and respect a relationship he knew wasn't real…."

Lyon nodded. It was a whole different way to see Gray, and he couldn't blame her for finding it incredibly attractive. "It's okay. Really. Even if he was an ass I don't think I could actually hold it against you, but he's not, and I want you to be happy."

Juvia stared at him in shock.

"I'm serious, I'm backing off. Besides I think he really likes you back so-"

"You do?" Juvia looked at him with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, I think he's really convinced you're in love with me, but I mean that kiss probably is at least giving him second thoughts." Lyon smirked at her and Juvia smiled back.

His phone buzzed, breaking through the silence. It vibrated against his thigh and Lyon sighed, fishing it back out again. As he caught sight of the text his whole body tensed and his stomach roiled. "We've got a problem."

Juvia's smile faltered and she cocked her head to the side.

Lyon offered her the phone and watched as she read the text.

Juvia paled. Her eyes met his, and were wide with panic.

The text was from his mom; demanding to know where he was and what happened between Gray and Juvia.

The phone vibrated again, and Juvia practically jumped out of her skin. She held it back out towards him as though the device itself was going to gut her.

Lyon grabbed it, dreading what his mother had written.

_Ur: I swear to God that girl has some nerve!_

Her next message popped up even as he was reading the first.

_Ur: How completely ungrateful can she be?_

_Ur: I'm not tolerating this any more, she can't insult my husband and cheat on my child and just expect to get away with it. The second she gets back here she's packing her bags._

Lyons hand clutched the phone tighter. He glared down at the device, extremely grateful Juvia wasn't reading the slew of texts coming in. He ground his teeth and seethed. He wasn't about to abandon Juvia and send her off two days before Christmas, not after everything she'd been through.

"We gotta head back, she's pitching a fit," Lyon growled.

Juvia hesitated, her fingers curling around his wrist. "Shouldn't we have a plan?"

Lyon glanced at her, with eyebrows raised. "Right." He took a deep breath, but his heart hammered in his throat. Cana saw them kiss, Erza saw them kiss. They could maybe convince Gray to go along with something, but he doubted that the others would. "I've got nothing."

Juvia swallowed hard. "Me neither. What do we do?"

Lyon shrugged. He had no clue. "Well, usually I'd say we throw Gray under the bus, but I'm guessing that's not really an option?"

"Lyon." Juvia glared at him. "We're not throwing Gray under the bus."

Lyon sighed dramatically. "See this was what I was afraid of, you fall in love with him and now I'm left to fend for myself! What ever happened to bros before hoes?"

Juvia rolled her eyes. Before Lyon could think about it her hand pushed against his chest, sending him careening into the snow. His hands caught him before he fell all the way back, but he could already feel the cold seeping through his jacket and gloves. He pouted.

"Don't even try to make me feel guilty," Juvia said, standing so that she towered right over top of him. "Technically Gray is your bro, which means I'm the hoe and you better believe I'm gonna knock you on your ass for a comment like that."

"Pfft. Okay, I could have seen that one coming." He raised his hands up and made grabbing motions like a child.

Juvia reached down and grabbed his hands, and hauled him up onto his feet.

Lyon dusted off his jacket and sighed. "I guess the only solution is for me to come out."

Juvia froze, and stared up at him wide-eyed. "Are you sure?"

No. Anxiety twisted his stomach into knots just saying the words, but they didn't have many other options.

"You don't have to come out," Juvia insisted, her hand rested on his forearm.

"You say that, but I don't see how you could possibly lie your way out of this one," Lyon said.

Juvia bit her lip and averted her gaze. Her voice was low and trembled as she spoke. "I can leave. Tell them that we broke up over the kiss. I can crash at the bus station, then take the first bus home in the morning."

"What? No way!" Lyon's heart hammered and he glowered at her.

Did she really think he'd let her do that? Sure he asked her to pretend to date him so he could avoid having to come out, but he'd never agree to abandon her at Christmas. Not so he could maintain the charade.

"But-"

"No!" He grabbed her by the arms, and his body shook with anger and pain. "Do you really think I care more about my secrets than your happiness? Than your safety? I don't care where you grew up, like hell I'm letting you sleep in a bus shelter. Or spend Christmas alone on a bus!"

Juvia averted her gaze, but Lyon could see the tears welling at the corners of her eyes. "It's not a big deal-"

"Bullshit! What do I need to do or say to get it through your thick skull that I care about you? If you go, you lose everything you just gained. I'd never do that to you!"

"I know…. But this was my fault, I got-"

"Oh my god, stop. Seriously. And you call me the drama queen? You like Gray, he likes you, you kissed; this wouldn't be an issue if I hadn't asked you to pretend to be my girlfriend. You've done enough for me, it's time I actually did something for myself," Lyon said.

"Lyon…." Juvia pushed through his grasp, and threw herself against him. Her arms wrapped tightly about his waist.

Lyon stumbled, but he managed to catch his footing before the two of them landed in the snow. He let out a long sigh before curling his arms around her, pulling her tight to his chest. A large part of him was terrified of what was to come, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

Besides, she belonged with his family. Who knows, if all went well she would end up being an official member of it.

He smiled as he remembered that Mered had suggested something along the same lines. He wondered if coming out would allow him a second chance. He doubted it, but he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

He planted a soft kiss on the crown of Juvia's forehead. "Come on. Let's go home."

* * *

They weren't even in the door when Ur came barrelling towards them from the living room. "There you are! It's about time you got back here. I want an explanation, what do you have to say for yourself!"

Juvia backed right into the door and Lyon stepped in front of her without thinking. "Mom you need to calm down, we can explain."

"You shouldn't have to explain anything!" Ur screamed, seething at Juvia.

"Yes he does!" Gray shouted, his heavy stomps reverberated against the floorboards as he stormed into the foyer. "I told you, this isn't on Juvia, you don't know half of what's going on."

Ur spun on him faster than Lyon had ever seen. "That's enough! I said I'd deal with you later, now go sit down!"

"No!" He shouted back. He foot stomped against the ground

Silver and Ultear appeared behind him, both looking agitated.

"Gray, now's not the time to be throwing tantrums," Silver warned. His frown shifted from his son, to Juvia and Lyon could see her shrink under the disapproval.

Lyon's gut twisted, and his hand reached back to grab hers as and his frustration mounted. This wasn't going well, and no one would shut up long enough for him to get a word in.

"I'm not!" Gray's eyes met Lyon's and he glared at him. "You need to tell them the truth, all of them! If you don't I will, I don't care if you hate me for it!"

"Gray don't," Juvia pleaded. "Just calm down, it's okay."

"No it's not," he growled. "You don't understand!"

"Yes, I do. Just trust me," Juvia said

Ultear scoffed. "That's rich, why should he? You've been lying to us since you got here."

"Ultear," Lyon growled.

"Save it Lyon. I'm with Gray it's time you two came clean." Ultear said.

"I'm trying to, if you'd all just shu-"

"Stop twisting this around on your brother! I can't believe both of you! I raised you all better than this!" Ur screamed.

"Mom enough! Listen to me for once!" Lyon screamed back.

"No, don't let her manipulate you into thinking this is your fault, because it's not! I've watched her twist you and everyone else in this family around and I'm not going to keep letting her do it."

"She's not manipulating me, if you'd just listen-"

"Yes she is!"

"No! She's not! She can't be, because I'm gay and I don't give a damn that she kissed Gray!"

Silence filled the foyer so suddenly, Lyon wondered if time had stopped. He took a shaky breath and met his mom's eyes.

Ur stared at him wide eyed, and mouth agape, but no words came out. Her eyes darted back and forth between him and Juvia, but her frown remained in place.

All eyes were on him, and for the longest time the only sound was their breathing. Juvia's hand squeezed his tighter as they waiting for someone to say something.

"Mom?" Lyon's voice quivered, and he hated it. He hated the way she was looking at him, as though he was a ghost, or some stranger she'd never met.

Ur slammed her eyes shut. She inhaled deeply, and her whole body shook. When she opened her eyes her gaze was sharp. "I need a moment."

She didn't wait for a response. She spun on her heel and strode back into the living room.

Silver paused, offering Lyon and Juvia a worried glance before sighing and following Ur.

Lyon's heart sank as they disappeared, and he wondered how he managed to remain standing.

* * *

Lyon felt Juvia's hand squeeze his. The tips of her fingers skated against the back of his hand. He focused on the feeling as he struggled to ground himself in reality. He took a breath in; then out. He forced his eyes to move about the room taking in the details.

Gray was the closest thing to him, and stood directly between Lyon and the living room doorway.

Gray sighed and scratched the back of his neck as he stared after their parents. Slowly his gaze shifted to meet Juvia's. "You doing okay? I've been trying to warn you but-"

"It's fine, I already knew," Juvia said, straightening now that she was no longer being screamed at.

"Huh?" Gray wrinkled his nose in confusion.

"She knows he's gay, they're not really dating," Ultear said, drawing Lyon's gaze to her. She leaned back against the banister for the stairs and scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. "So you can't come out for Mered, but you'll come out for her?"

Lyon flinched, and struggled to form a defense. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, and he couldn't think straight over the pounding of his heart and the ragged sounds of his breathing.

No matter how many times he'd imagined this moment it had never gone like this.

"Ultear, that's not-"

"You've been lying to us all this time?" Gray spat, interrupting Juvia.

She froze, and the silence between them stretched for an eternity. She eased out from behind Lyon and shuffled forward so that she could stand by his side. She gave his hand another squeeze before replying. "Yes."

"Has anything been true with you?" Gray demanded.

"Of course." Juvia frowned.

"Like what?" Ultear said. "All of Wednesday was a lie."

Lyon took a shaky breath. He could hear them, but he struggled to process the conversation. Why were they upset about this? They were fine with Mered being gay, so why couldn't they understand? He wanted to scream. To tell them to shut up. But the words lodged in his throat. His chest tightened and he let out a whimper.

Juvia's words died at the sound and she spun around to face him. Her whole face softened as she took in his appearance. "Hey, hey-"

"I wanna go home." Lyon's whole body was quivering and his eyes pleaded with Juvia.

"You are home," Ultear snapped.

Lyon shook his head.

"Lyon…." Juvia's hands cupped his cheeks, as her eyes searched his

"Seriously? You're just gonna bail on us?" Gray asked.

Juvia whipped her head around. "Oh my god! Can you both stop! You're not helping."

"Well, he's being ridiculous." Ultear said. "We're his family; he can't keep running away from us because he doesn't want to face reality."

Lyon let out a choked sob. The last bit of self restraint broke and tears streaked down his face as sobs racked his body. His knees gave out and he crumpled to the ground in a heap by the door. He new he looked like a mess and he hated being so vulnerable. He's never let his family see him like this.

Juvia was down beside him in an instant, and her arms wrapped around him protectively. She shielded him and let him break apart in her arms.

"They hate me," Lyon whispered against her chest.

"No they don't," Juvia said.

"I should never have come back here."

"That's not true."

"My mom's never gonna look at me again."

"Lyon, look at me," Juvia insisted, her hands cupped his face to force him to comply.

He did. His blurred gaze caught on Gray and Ultear, who were hovering a foot away, with concerned frowns.

"Look at me," Juvia said, brushing the tears from his face even as more fell to take their place.

When their eyes met, Lyon felt a small measure of calm wash over him. The tears didn't stop, but the sobs lessened and he found himself breathing easier.

"Your family doesn't hate you, they love you. All of them. They're upset right now, but it'll pass." Her hand brushed away more tears.

He shook his head. It wouldn't.

"It wasn't a mistake to come home, you've made so much progress with Gray and you've been really happy being back here." One of her hands slipped from his cheek to his shoulder as his tears slowed.

He swallowed and took a deeper breath. It wasn't entirely true, but there had been moments when he was happy to be home. When he felt like things were going in the right direction.

"As for your mom, she just needs a minute to absorb everything, she'll be back out to talk to you. She was angry at Gray and I when you told her, and I'm sure she just didn't want that anger to come out at you." Juvia leaned forward and kissed his forehead then pulled him into a hug.

Lyon leaned into her embrace and held her tight. "I fucked up."

"We fucked up, we lied about a lot of things. That's why they're upset, no one is mad that you're gay." Juvia's hands ran up and down the length of his back, easing the ache in his heart.

"I'm scared," he whispered, nuzzling against her shoulder.

"I know, but I'm here. It's going to be fine, and if it really gets bad then I'll drag you to the car and drive until we're miles away; but you gotta give them a chance."

A foreign hand landed on his left shoulder and Lyon turned his head to find Ultear crouched beside them. "I'm not upset you're gay. I'm hurt that you thought you couldn't tell me; that you couldn't rely on me. You're my baby brother I'm supposed to protect you."

A fresh wave of tears streamed down Lyon's cheeks as he released Juvia and flung his arms around Ultear. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

It took a moment for Ultear to wrap her arms back around him, but when she did relief flooded through Lyon. That was one person who was okay with it.

A thump against the door drew Lyon's attention and he found Gray leaning back against it.

Gray stared at Lyon for a moment before running a hand through his hair and letting out a loud sigh. His head fell back against the door with thunk. "I really don't have an issue with it. I get why you'd think I do, though. I've spent the last two years wishing I could go back and make it right. I can't even be mad at you, cause this is all on me."

Lyon used his sweater to wipe the tears from his eyes, certain that he was seeing things. But when he looked back up, Gray's eyes were glassy. They stared at each other for a long time, before Lyon shook his head. "It's not all you."

The tension that had been strung through Gray's body loosened and relief flooded his features. He nodded, then clapped a hand on Lyon's shoulder.

Heels clacked against the hardwood and Lyon's stomach knotted all over again, as he turned his head to peer at the living room entrance.

"Alright, clearly we need to talk abo-" Ur halted in the doorway, stunned by the sight before her.

Juvia shifted closer to Lyon instinctively, her arm wrapping around him protectively and Lyon leaned into her.

Ur's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, her gaze taking in all of them huddled together on the entrance mat.

Lyon's heart hammered against his chest, making the silence unbearable. "Mom, please… say something."

Ur strode forward before dropping down to her knees in front of him, with her arms held wide. "Come here baby."

Lyon lurched forward into her arms, wrapping himself up in her embrace. "I'm sorry," he choked. "I'm sorry, please don't be disappointed in me."

"Lyon-"

"Please. I'm sorry, I tried not to be, really!" Lyon sobbed, and clung to her tighter.

"Oh, sweetie… no, never. Lyon I love you, I don't care about that. I'm upset that you've lied to us all, but we can talk about that." She held him closer and stroked his back. "You don't have to be ashamed of who you are, I'm not going to stop loving you."

Lyon forced himself to take a deep breath, as the tears continued to fall. Relief washed over him as he sat there, cradled in his mother's arms. They accepted him, and while she was right, they had a lot to talk about still, it was the closest Lyon had felt to being whole in a long time.

* * *

It took several more minutes of tears and murmured words for Lyon to compose himself. Despite being exhausted and worn out, he knew he had a lot of explaining to do. He wanted to suggest they sleep on it, everyone had to be feeling the late hour, but he worried that he might lose his nerve.

Besides, sleep wouldn't come easy until he'd dealt with the whole of this.

"I know I shouldn't have lied, but, if you're willing to, I'd like the chance to explain."

Ur nodded. "How about we all go get comfortable in the living room and we can talk this mess out?"

Lyon nodded. "Sounds good."

"I'll grab a couple bottles from the bar," Ultear said. "We're gonna need something to help steady the nerves."

Ur rolled her eyes but didn't protest. She let Lyon help her to her feet and brushed off her pants.

Juvia placed a ginger hand on Lyon's arm and he glanced over at her. Their eyes met and he could see the concern there.

His hand covered hers and gave it a squeeze. "I'm okay now."

She nodded, and her gaze flickered about the room, before focusing on the floor, and she shifted closer too him.

Lyon wrapped his free arm around her protectively and faced his mom.

Ur took a deep breath in and let her eyes fall onto Juvia, who refused to look up from the floor.

Neither said a word, and Lyon could feel the tension still between them. He ran his hand along Juvia's shoulder, and pulled her closer. He wasn't letting her shoulder this anymore.

She'd only done what he'd asked of her, and found herself caught up in more than she'd expected. She'd lied for him, and now he'd fight tooth and nail for her.

"Come on, let's go sit." He guided Juvia past his mom, and into the living room.

Silver was seated on the couch, head in his hands, looking exhausted and much older than he ever had before. He glanced up as they entered and offered them a small smile. "You kids okay?"

Lyon nodded and smiled back.

Juvia glanced up at him seeming surprised at the question, and then bit her lip. Her gaze once again returned to Ur for a split second, before dropping again. "Y-yeah."

Concern knitted into Silver's brow as he took in Juvia's defeated posture. He glanced at Ur in confusion, and she glanced at Juvia and Lyon in turn.

Lyon ignored Ur's stare, and settled the two of them on the love seat, while Ur settled beside Silver on the couch. His hand found hers and he gave it a small squeeze.

Gray trudged in dragging his feet, before flopping down on the arm chair with his arms crossed along his chest. Ultear was the last to join them, reappearing from the dining room with an arm full of bottles that she set down on the coffee table with a thunk.

Silver immediately reached out and poured himself a glass of whiskey and Ultear refilled her glass of wine before perching on the arm of the couch beside him.

Silence stretched in the room, everyone was glancing around, but no one seemed to know where to start.

Lyon glanced at Juvia once again, and found her staring at her feet. He took a deep breath. "You should all know, none of this was Juvia's idea. I was terrified of coming back here and facing everyone after so long. It's so much easier in Margaret Town." He wrung his hands together, nervous about everything he wanted to say; all that he needed to express.

Juvia placed her hand over his, and he stilled. Their eyes met and she offered him the barest hint of a smile, but it managed to unwind the knots that had been constricting in his gut.

Lyon lifted his head and stared at his family. "I knew I couldn't keep avoiding you all, and I missed being home, but I hated having to hide everything. I hated having to check myself and hold back. When Juvia told me Gajeel wasn't gonna be able to visit her, and she'd be alone for Christmas, and it was kinda like the universe gave me this perfect solution."

"I can't believe you thought lying to us was a perfect solution," Ultear scoffed. "Did you really think you could keep this charade up for two weeks and no one would catch on?"

"It's not much of a charade. We haven't had to act differently. People are always mistaking us for a couple; even people who know Lyon's gay," Juvia explained.

"It's true. I mean, none of you questioned it," Lyon said. "And we didn't have to lie about much."

"Just how we met," Juvia added.

"That wasn't how you met?" Gray asked, glancing back and forth between them in surprise.

"Well, it was," Lyon said.

"Just not the part about me being harassed by guys." Juvia said.

Lyon glanced at her, and sighed. "Yeah, that was actually me. A few guys at school thought it would be fun to give me hard time after my ex and I came out. Juvia was the one to swoop in and save my ass."

"I kinda went off on them," Juvia admitted sheepishly.

"It was bad ass, you were my hero." Lyon smiled at her, before turning back to his family. They were staring at him like he'd grown a second head.

"You two are seriously like this all the damn time?" Ultear groaned.

"Yep."

"Pretty much."

Ur frowned and glanced between them. "You're sure you're not-"

"Very sure," Lyon interjected. He scratched at the back of his neck, as his mind wandered back to Wednesday night. "Trust me."

Ur leaned back into the couch with a sigh. "Okay, well, is there anything else we should know?"

Lyon bit his lip and shifted in his seat. "Umm, well-"

"What about Wednesday?" Ultear prompted, as she folded across her chest.

Lyon glared at her. His date with Mered wasn't something he had any patience to discuss, especially given the way the conversation had gone earlier.

Ur frowned. "Wednesday? The incident with Sherry?"

Lyon felt the guilt bubble up inside him at Ur's concern.

"There wasn't an incident with Sherry," Juvia said. She gave Lyon's hand a squeeze and sat a little straighter.

"Whaddya mean?" Gray frowned. "We went and picked him up. I was there when you got the call."

"There was an issue, it just wasn't about Sherry. I lied because I didn't know what else to tell you," Juvia said.

"Why would you need to lie about that?" Silver asked.

Lyon took a deep breath, readying himself for the fallout. "She lied because I wasn't out with Sherry, I had a date."

"What?" Silver said.

"With who?" Ur asked.

"Who do you think?" Ultear grumbled. "There was a reason Juvia and I got into it earlier."

"Wait, you were with Mered?" Ur asked.

Lyon sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

"But Mered's out, I mean, wouldn't you have known that we knew and were okay with it?" Gray asked.

"I didn't know he knew any of you," Lyon confessed, staring at his hands. "He never told me."

Silver frowned. "But how did you two meet?"

"Online, through a dating site. I don't know, he messaged me. Said he saw I was from a nearby town and I kinda brushed him off at first, since I wasn't out." Lyon explained. "He was persistent though, said he wanted someone to talk to who understood. I never even planned on meeting him until last month."

Gray sat up and leaned forward. "So that day; you were upset because-"

"Things kinda blew up."

Ultear scoffed. "More like you freaked for no reason and he called you out on it."

"I didn't freak for no reason!" Lyon exploded, glaring at her. "I had no idea how any of you would would react. I had no idea he knew how you'd react! In fact, if he knew you, he knew I wasn't out in the first place, so I don't get why he was so shocked."

"He wasn't shocked. He didn't care that you weren't out, he just figured you'd actually want to come out since you were out at school and wanted to date him," Ultear countered.

"Well I might have been a little more open to the idea if he'd bothered to tell me that my entire family knew him," Lyon said. "Hell you could have told me you knew, instead of getting pissed off after the fact."

"I didn't find out until Thursday night. I had no idea you two were even in contact. Why does any of that even matter? Did you honestly think we'd freak out on you? That we'd disown you or something?" Ultear demanded, slamming her fist down on the arm of the couch.

The word yes bubbled on his tongue, ready to poison the room. Lyon bit it back, and clenched his jaw tight to keep the word from spilling forth. No matter how much the voices in his head had suggested that might be the case, deep down he knew he was being dramatic.

He knew they wouldn't have turned him out. Chances were they wouldn't even have spoken out against him. No, the issue was in all the things left unsaid, or in the dismissal of concerns. The easing of ruffled feathers, the constant call for patience and understanding, things they already expected of him with every other situation.

And he would have been. He would have swallowed every poisoned barb thrown his way with nary a complaint. He would have held his head high all the while being rotted from the inside and they would have encouraged it. Praise him for it, even.

Eventually he'd resent them for it. Eventually he would break apart under the pressure and then…. Well, he honestly didn't know, but the thought terrified him.

Ultear frowned, misunderstanding his silence. "Do you think so little of us?"

Lyon shook his head. "No, of course not."

"Just of me," Gray said, meeting Lyon's gaze.

Lyon sighed and closed his eyes, massaging his fingers against his temple. "That's not wha-"

"It's okay," Gray interjected. "I don't blame you for it. After everything I've done, Bacchus and his friends, I don't exactly have the best opinion of myself either."

Lyon let out an exasperated sighed. It was like trying to talk to a rock, or well, maybe not because a rock wouldn't interrupt him or talk over him or assume it knew what he thought and felt.

"Look I know he's a drama queen at times, but it's not as black and white as you're all trying to make this," Juvia stated as she straightened herself. She let her words hang for a moment as she took in everyone in the room, making sure she had their attention.

All of them quieted and stared at her.

It always amazed Lyon how she did that in day to day life. He could command the same attention in a play, or while singing, but never when the words were his own.

"You're all looking at this as some personal attack, like his lack of trust is due to some horrible behaviour that's convinced him you're all homophobic, but it's nothing like that. None of you are horrible people, but it's like I said earlier, you all kinda give the impression that you'd rather not deal with it," Juvia explained.

"Why? Because we don't go picking fights with people every chance we get," Ultear snapped. She glared at Juvia. "Sorry, but none of us have had the opportunity to sweep in and play hero."

Juvia bristled at the accusation. "You think that's all it took? One night and suddenly he was baring his soul to me?"

"That's how you make it sound," Ultear said.

"Well that's not how it went. Sure we've been friends ever since, but it took months of protecting him to get him to trust me," Juvia said. "Months of me chasing off anyone who tried to shame him or bully him, fighting to make a safe space for him. I haven't just been paying him lip service all this time, I've been actively standing by his side, and sometimes in front of him when the need called for it."

"And you think we wouldn't have?" Ur asked. "If we knew-"

"If you knew, he'd have already told you. What you're saying is that he needed to trust you to do something that you wouldn't do unless he spoke up, can't you understand how hypocritical that is?" Juvia huffed. She glowered at Ur.

"Okay, let's all take a step back," Silver said, placing a hand on Ur's and looking at Juvia pointedly. "We're all starting to feel a bit defensive."

Juvia took a deep breath, and leaned back into the love-seat. She glanced over at Lyon and he gave her hand a squeeze.

Ur mirrored the action.

Silver smiled, then surprised Lyon by turning to lock eyes with him, instead of the girls. "We're getting off point. It's late, emotions are running high, and Juvia's right."

Ur frowned at the declaration, but Silver continued anyways, "We're taking Lyon's silence as a lack of trust. And we keep attacking him for it, and Juvia keeps jumping to his defense. But none of us are letting Lyon talk or explain this for himself."

Lyon felt the weight of those words and the task ahead of him settle like a stone over his chest. He was terrible with his words when under stress, and he felt like the whole room was charged to explode. He felt like he'd been handed a match and told not to drop it.

Juvia tightened her grip and leaned into him. "It's okay, just tell them what you've told me. No matter what, I've got you."

Lyon swallowed and nodded.

Ur and Ultear both shifted forward and all eyes were on him. The silence in the room was oppressive, and he felt like a trap waiting to be sprung.

"I'm afraid nothing's gonna change." Lyon held his breath, waiting for the backlash.

He was met with silence and confused frowns, but no one jumped to speak over him. The floor was his; they were all listening for once.

"It's easier to dismiss things when I can tell myself none of you know, that it's not intentional." His leg bounced as he spoke, the words spilling out into the room. "Telling you means having to accept that what you say from there on out is how you feel. That it's what you think is right. I'm afraid you're gonna tell me to stay quiet. Turn the other cheek, be the bigger person, because that's what you always expect of me."

He took a deep breath. It was like drawing poison from the wound, only he wasn't sure what would happen to it. He was waiting for someone to jab it back in. "Only, staying quiet doesn't just mean walking away from an insult, it means don't make waves. Don't give them a reason. It means not kissing my boyfriend in public, or holding his hand and that's not fair. You'd never ask that of someone else. I don't want to spend the rest of my life pretending to be some half person with no emotions in public."

"We wouldn't-"

"You already do." Lyon stared Ur down, causing her word to catch in her throat. "You expect so much more of me than you ever do of Ultear or Gray. I'm tired of it. I can't keep meeting your expectations and that scares me even more, because I don't want to disappoint you, but it feels like no matter what I will."

Ur's shoulders sagged and her lips thinned. "You would never be able to disappoint me. Not by being yourself. I know that I leaned on you a lot as a kid, but I never actually expected you to always rise to the occasion. I still don't. You don't have to meet any of my expectations. All I want is for you to be happy."

Lyon swallowed hard. It was a relief to hear her say that, and to have finally said everything he'd been carrying around, but it still didn't feel like things were resolved.

"I think we forget how much we rely on you. We noticed it that first Christmas, but we've all kinda come together and moved forward. But we never really addressed it as an issue, least of all with you." Ultear said.

"I honestly thought that was why you never came home. I thought that you finally felt free from responsibilities and I couldn't blame you for wanting to enjoy yourself. You deserved it. I didn't realize you were holding so much more in." Ur said.

"It's why we never pushed for you to come home," Silver said. "Or got upset when you'd decline visits."

Lyon shook his head. "I was just afraid you'd come down and someone would out me."

Silver nodded in understanding.

The room fell quiet, but it wasn't as oppressive as before. Lyon felt his fears ebbing away, each beat of his heart pumped new life into him. It wasn't perfect but it was going to be okay.

* * *


	22. After the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things finally calm down and someone gets a little giggly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, it's been a while since I've done this, but I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone reading IKYSS. To all of you wonderful souls who review, whether it's once, once in a while, or every chapter. To the people who follow and who favourite. The response from you all has been beyond anything I would have ever expected and it means the world to me. I genuinely don't know if I would have made it this far without you all, I'd like to believe I would have, but I'd be lying if I said that the overwhelmingly positive feedback hasn't driven me forward and been a major factor in keeping me going and trying to maintain a schedule.
> 
> So I wanted to thank you all, and in more than just words, so I commissioned some art, of the infamous kitchen scene. It can be found here muffindragon227.tumblr.com/post/161057050150/muffindragon227-to-be-honest-i-usually. It can also be found if you search IKYSS from the tumblr menu and you don't need to be logged in (although if you're on mobile it's not showing up. Working to fix that.)
> 
> I also wanted to say that if there's anyone in the GTA I'll be at Anime North on Saturday and Sunday hanging out in the dealers room and would absolutely welcome visitors. :D
> 
> Finally I want to give a big shout out to Angelette/Windlist and crew! They based one of their film class assignments off Ikyss and linked me to the video which can be found at youtube.com/5W9ur6Zclsg. It totally made my day and I get to be super proud of the fact that they got an A on the assignment as well. :D
> 
> Anyways, thank you all, and please enjoy the chapter! The next chapter is being written but I don't currently have an eta for when it will be done, but I'll try to post updates on Tumblr as I go.

"So Mered huh?" Gray asked, a smirk curling onto his lips.

Lyon flushed, then grimaced when he thought of how they left things. "I get the feeling that's not working out."

"Why not?" Ur pouted.

"Uh, the whole fight thing. He was pretty pissed." Lyon said

Ultear rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should try calling him first before just writing him off."

Lyon perked up and glanced at her. "You think?"

She shrugged in response. "Doesn't matter what I think. Either he's worth the shot to you, or he's not."

Lyon sighed and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Ultear clearly wasn't going to be of any help on the matter.

"You should do it," Gray said.

Lyon glanced up at him in surprise.

Gray flushed lightly and shrugged. "You were pretty upset about things falling through. If it means that much to you, you gotta see it through. Besides you'll be seeing each other a lot if you're gonna be around more. Might as well make peace."

Lyon stared at him for a moment before nodding. It was true, he didn't want things to end the way they did. At the very least he owed Mered an explanation.

Ultear chuckled. "Uh huh, no ulterior motive there, eh Gray?"

Gray's entire face went a brilliant shade of red and his eyes darted to Juvia.

Ur frowned "About that-"

Silver placed a hand over hers. "We've covered enough tonight. It's late, we're all exhausted, and we have a whole week to carry on this conversation."

Ur looked like she was about to protest. Her eyes darted back and forth between Gray and Juvia. Finally she sighed. "You're right, a good night's sleep will probably do us all some good."

Lyon let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"I'll just go tidy up in the kitchen a bit." Ur said, rising from the couch and looking world worn.

"We'll get it!" Juvia protested. All eyes swiveled towards her and she shrunk back, feeling embarrassed about the outburst. She bit down on her lower lip and forced herself to meet Ur's disapproving gaze. "It's late and I'm sure you're exhausted. We can handle it."

Ur looked down at her, mouth set in a thin line. The two of them held each other's gaze, and Lyon worried that this would be yet another fight.

Silver rose beside Ur and wrapped an arm around her. "Come on, let's let the kids handle the clean up. They're used to late nights and they can recover from it a lot faster than you and I."

Ur nodded and rested her head on his shoulder a small smile on her lips. "You're right."

"Any chance you'll say that again so I can get a recording of it?" Silver teased.

Ur smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "Not a chance in hell."

* * *

Juvia remained seated as Lyon's parents hugged him and the others goodnight.

Ur held Lyon a little longer and a little tighter than usual.

Juvia smiled. She was happy for him, and proud. He'd taken a huge and scary step forward and it looked like it was going to work out for him.

As Ur pulled away from him her gaze swept over Juvia and kept going.

A knot twisted in Juvia stomach and a feeling of deep unease settled over her. She was back to being an outsider now, and the only person she had to blame was herself.

Kissing Gray had been a selfish thing, and now she was going to pay for it.

Juvia let her gaze linger over the five of them in longing.

"Hey now," Silver chided smiling at her. "Get up and give this old man a hug; I'm too old to be bending over."

Juvia was quick to her feet, but even as he held his arms wide open for her, she hesitated.

Silver didn't. He closed the distance between them and wrapped her up in a tight embrace. He leaned in and whispered, "It's okay. We'll sort it all out. You didn't do anything wrong."

Juvia clung to him tighter and he let his hand sweep down her back and then up again, soothing and reassuring. It grounded her and gave her strength. She took a deep, shaky breath and stepped away. "Thanks, sweet dreams."

He hand ruffled her hair and he smiled. "You too sweetheart."

She kept her eyes on him until he disappeared from sight to climb the stairs before turning to Lyon. She gave him a small smile and reached her hand out towards him.

He laced his fingers with hers, giving her a small squeeze. "You okay?"

Juvia nodded and hummed. "You?"

Lyon took a deep breath and ran his free hand through his hair. He glanced towards the stairs. "Yeah, I think so."

Juvia stepped closer and nuzzled against him, wrapping an arm around him. "Well you're still here, so that counts for something."

He chuckled, freeing his hand from hers so he could wrap his arm around her shoulder. He placed a gentle kiss on the crown of her head and whispered, "Thanks for not letting me bail."

"Yes," Ultear said, locking eyes with Juvia. "Thank you. I'm not thrilled with everything, but I do appreciate you looking after him all this time, and just because I don't like it doesn't mean I can't respect you for having his back."

Juvia bit her lip. "I'm sorry for getting so worked up, or implying that you wouldn't have been there for him-"

"It's fine. Not happy about it, but I get what you're trying to say, and I lost my cool too, so let's call it square and move on," Ultear said.

Juvia nodded. "I'm good with that."

"Good." Ultear stepped forward and dragged Lyon into a half hug. "Just so you know, I still love you. I'll support you as much as I do Mered."

Lyon squeezed her tightly. "Thanks Tear."

"Now, I'm off to bed as I did not volunteer myself for cleanup duty," Ultear declared and detached herself from Lyon.

She ruffled Gray's hair and he swatted at her hand, then she headed to the stairs.

"Fine, abandon us to the chores. Go get your beauty rest. I'll just be hideous tomorrow," Lyon lamented.

"Haha it's your own fault!"

Lyon glared at her playfully. "Night Tear."

"Night."

"Sweet dreams," Juvia said with a wave.

"You too," Ultear called from halfway up the stairs.

Juvia sighed, exhaustion setting in. She wanted to follow Ultear up the stairs to bed or collapse on the couch. The task of cleaning up the kitchen was daunting and uninviting, but it was better than spending the next two days stuck on a bus. Plus she needed the brownie points, if she had any hope of winning Ur back over.

She let out another long sigh and resigned herself to a late night.

* * *

Lyon threaded his fingers through his hair and stole a side glance at Gray.

Gray moved back to the armchair and sunk into his gaze fixed on a random spot on the wall.

Lyon knew he ought to help Juvia clean up, but he also needed to talk to Gray. There had been a lot of bad blood between them over the years, and Lyon felt as though it was time to clear the air.

Juvia had told him that he had to decide if he was willing to move past what had happened and judge Gray for the man he was now. If he was honest with himself he hadn't been sure if he could.

Finding out Gray had kept his secret from everyone, including their parents and even Juvia, despite his obvious desire to tell her, had changed that.

"Hey," Lyon said, drawing Juvia's attention, "You cool starting the cleanup yourself? I wanted a chance to talk to Gray."

Gray's head shot up at the mention of his name and he eyed Lyon warily.

Exhaustion flashed in Juvia's eyes and her shoulders sagged. It was clear she wasn't looking forward to the task at hand, but she nodded anyways. "Sure, take all the time you need."

She gave his hand a quick squeeze and flashed Gray a shy smile before heading to the kitchen, leaving both boys alone.

Gray shifted and perched on the edge of his seat, as he stared up at Lyon.

Lyon sighed and ran his hand through his hair then bent down and poured two shots of vodka, then plucked them up from the table and approached Gray offering him one.

Gray accepted the offering, and Lyon reclined against the arm of the couch.

"What are we drinking to?" Gray asked, eyebrow raised in question.

"To keeping your brother's secrets even when he's being a giant asshole to you." Lyon smirked and raised his shot glass.

Gray snorted and smirked back, clinking his glass against Lyon's and downing the shot.

Lyon followed suit and winced a little as the vodka burned down his throat. He regretted not going and at least grabbing a lime to help with the taste.

"Listen, about earlier. I didn't mean to pressure you into-"

"Don't worry about it." Lyon waved him off. "I was planning to do it anyways. I knew Mom was freaking out and I might have been willing to throw you under the bus, but I'd never do that to Juvia. Especially not after dragging her all the way out here."

Gray nodded, but stared at his hands with his brow furrowed. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Hmm?"

"That I knew."

"Ah," Lyon took a deep breath. "Juvia caught on tonight. What you said earlier kinda made something click in her brain."

Gray scoffed. "That's what tipped her off? I've been trying to warn her since Monday, and the one time I'm not trying she gets it." Gray shook his head in disbelief.

Lyon chuckled. "Yeah, she mentioned you've been making implications."

Gray cringed. "Sorry, I thought-"

"That I was leading her on the way I did with Sherry?" Lyon asked with a knowing smirk.

Gray blinked at him.

"We couldn't figure out how you knew until Juvia mentioned that you seemed to be more adamant around Chelia and when you thought I was with Sherry. I called her and she let it slip that she told you," Lyon said.

Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "She admitted it?"

"Not intentionally. I kinda tricked her into it," Lyon admitted.

"I hope you didn't give her too much shit for it." Gray leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his face. "It was a complete accident."

"I know, I was pissed she didn't tell me about it, but I kinda let the rest slide. After all you hadn't told anyone, so I can't say it did any harm."

Gray nodded and flopped back into the armchair. He tilted his head to peer at Lyon. "Yeah, well, I'd be lying if I said the idea hadn't crossed my mind."

"What stopped you?"

Gray shrugged. "Guilt at first. I figured I at least owed it to you to let you know before I outed you. Then some shit went down with Daphne and I guess I gained some insight as to how you might feel. How much it sucks to have your personal life laid bare without your permission."

Lyon frowned and studied Gray, taking in the way his shoulders slumped and how Gray couldn't meet his gaze anymore. "She was your ex right?"

Gray nodded.

"What happened?" Lyon held his breath, certain Gray would brush the question off. He'd never been the sharing type, especially where Lyon was concerned.

Still, Lyon felt like this was the missing piece of the puzzle that was Gray. He'd changed while Lyon was gone, and Lyon had a feeling Gray's relationship was the catalyst to all that. If it was, Lyon wanted to understand what had happened.

"A lot of shit happened," Gray said, breaking the silence. He glanced over at Lyon and Lyon could see the pain etched into his features. "Cana was right, Daphne was a manipulative bitch, and she had me wrapped around her fingers. Then, when I finally got free she decided she'd get back at me."

"Get back at you?"

"After about a month of dating she got super possessive and controlling. She'd threaten to hurt herself any time I wanted to go anywhere without her, or talked to girls that weren't her-"

"You're fucking kidding me. Gray that's abusive as fuck, please tell me you didn't put up with that shit." Lyon couldn't help but feel angry and over protective. Sure he'd had his issues with Gray, but no one deserved to go through that shit. Never mind the fact that Gray's history of loss would have made him particularly vulnerable to that shit.

Gray refused to meet Lyon's eyes, and his mouth was set into a thin line. "I wish I could say I didn't. I shouldn't have, but I don't know. I'd cut myself off from the rest of my friends by hanging out with Bacchus and the others, and their advice consisted of 'tell her to fuck off and kill herself then,' and 'that's women, they're bat shit crazy. But hey, it's worth it if the sex is good.'"

Lyon scoffed. Leave it to Bacchus to advocate abusive relationships in the name of good sex. "Fucking morons."

"Yeah, well, you tried to warn me." Gray glanced at Lyon and held his gaze. "Everyone did. I just didn't wanna listen."

Lyon scowled. It was true, in a sense, but he doubted anyone thought Bacchus could be that dumb or damaging.

"Anyways, point was I got caught up in her for months. I used to beg her not to hurt herself, and told her all about my past with my mom and shit to explain why that freaked me out so much. Of course, the more I told her, the more she used it against me."

Lyon nodded, it was typical abusive behaviour.

"Finally one night we'd had a massive fight, I ended up leaving and ran into Cana at a bar. We hadn't even spoken since college started, but you know how she is, never one to hold a grudge. I told her everything, and proceeded to get wasted. Cana ended up taking me home, I told her I had to go back. I was afraid of what Daphne would do if I was gone all night. What she'd think. Cana told me I was nuts, but she did it anyways." Gray paused, and frowned.

Lyon nodded. "I'm guessing that didn't go over so well?"

He shook his head. "Daphne flipped when she saw Cana. Went off on me worse then ever."

"That explains Cana's venom towards her."

"Yeah." Gray ran a hand through his hair. "She refused to let me stay. Dragged my ass back into the cab and refused to let me leave once we got back to her place. She spent the whole night up with me trying to reassure me it would be okay. I swore Daphne was gonna kill herself, and that it would be all my fault."

Lyon sighed. "Fuck that's insane."

Gray nodded.

"I'm guessing she didn't tough?"

"No, she didn't." Gray sighed and pulled one of his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around it. "Cana had me wait until she had class and then got me to go get all my stuff. She let me crash with her, and coached me through the first week. Honestly, I don't think I could have done it without her."

Lyon leaned forward and rested a hand on Gray's shoulder. "I'm glad you had her."

And he was. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to go through all that, but he'd been there with Juvia after she'd found out about Bora cheating on her, and he'd seen the emotion damage that act had left in it's wake.

"That wasn't the end of it though," Gray said. He rested his head on his knee and faced Lyon. "She had a friend on the university paper and convinced them to let her write a psych article about men with abandonment issues."

"Dude, that shit's illegal, she can't do that!" Lyon hissed. He was ready to hunt this woman down and flay her.

"She didn't use my name. It was deemed vague enough that they didn't even have to retract it, but anyone who knew me, or heard about what happened with my mom knew who it was about." Gray sighed. "It didn't take long for everyone on campus to figure it out."

"Everyone?"

Gray shrugged. "Felt like it. I was constantly bombarded by questions from strangers, and it felt like everyone was giving me looks; some sympathetic, but most were judgemental. She said a lot of nasty shit, talked about commitment issues and basically implied I'd cheated on her."

"And of course they bought it," Lyon scoffed.

"Yeah." Gray sighed. "I had a bit of a break down right before first semester exams. Had to call Mom and Ultear to come get me. They got it sorted so I could retake the exams later, but I ended up needing to see a school counselor. Only good thing to come out of it was reconnecting with Natsu and the others."

Lyon felt a huge pang of guilt. He had no idea that all that was going on when he told his mom he wasn't coming home that first year, but he'd sensed something was off. He'd assumed she was disappointed by his absence, but he'd never asked. Regret crept up his back, cold and clammy. He should have been here for them.

Lyon rose from the couch and moved to sit on the edge of the coffee table so he could actually face Gray. He leaned forward and placed a hand on Gray's knee. "Sorry I wasn't here."

"S'okay. Woulda been one more burden you had to carry for us." Gray offered him a bittersweet smile. "'Sides, it was the first time I ever really got to miss you."

Lyon blinked, feeling taken aback by the statement.

"I don't think any of us realized how much you kept all our shit together until you weren't there to do it," Gray confessed.

"I don't even do that much," Lyon said.

Gray shrugged. "You would have taken care of Christmas plans, comforted Mom when she was having her break downs, and calmed 'Tear down when she'd go off about the whole thing. I don't know, you just-" Gray sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "-You're good at dealing with people. I tried but it's not the same. I mean, don't get me wrong, we survived. But it's been nice having you back."

Lyon smiled. "Yeah, well, it's been nice being back, minus the lying and the drama, but that's kinda my own fault."

"It's our fault too. Juvia's right; we never made it easy for you," Gray said.

Lyon grinned.

Gray flushed and averted his gaze. "What?"

"Cana's right, you like her."

Gray shook his head. "Look, I know what you're gonna sa-"

"She likes you too."

Gray's head whipped and looked at Lyon like a deer in headlights. "What?"

Lyon rolled his eyes and smirked. "You'd have to be blind not to have notice. She's not exactly subtle. I mean she basically grabbed you and stuck her tongue down your throat."

Gray choked, and his face and ears were beat red. "It won't happen a-"

"Relax," Lyon interrupted, rolling his eyes and holding up his hand to halt Gray's word vomit. "I'm over it."

Gray eyed him skeptically.

"Seriously, she's important to me and you make her feel happy. Safe even. I'm still not sure I get why, but you do, and that's kind of a big deal. Her ex left her pretty broken up."

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that," Gray mumbled, he studied Lyon for a moment. "So that's it? No over protective best friend threats? You're just gonna give me the go ahead?"

Lyon chuckled. "I doubt there's anything that I could say to actually scare you off, so I'll leave that to Gajeel."

Gray grimaced.

"But-"

"Here it comes," Gray grumbled.

Lyon glared at him. "Stop being a brat, I'm giving you my blessing," he hissed. Lyon took a deep breath and folded his arms over his chest and locked eyes with Gray. "I just wanna make sure you've thought this through."

Gray frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lyon rolled his eyes. "It means that Juvia gets attached quickly, and she's coming out of a relationship where she was cheated on, and you're going to be thousands of miles away from each other. So, I wanna make sure you're up for that after everything you've been through."

Gray opened his mouth to respond.

"And before you protest, I'm only saying this to you because the sexual tension between you two is palpable, and she's not exactly great with self restraint when she wants something." Lyon threaded his fingers through his hair and glanced towards the kitchen. "I just don't want you to rush into this, and end up in over your head. She's happy here, our family is good for her. I don't want her to lose that."

Lyon glanced back to Gray to find him staring solemnly in the direction of the kitchen as well.

Gray took a deep breath and let out a frustrated groan as he buried his head in his hands and mumbled, "I hate that you're right about this." He straighten and dropped his hands back down to his lap. His face was mapped with distress. "I don't wanna hurt her."

"I know. I also know that a few hours ago you were pretty much convinced she was in love with me, so I kinda figured you hadn't put much thought into the logistics of it," Lyon said.

Gray nodded. He let out a long breath and met Lyon's gaze. "So what do I do?"

"Think about it, and in the meantime, take things slow with her."

Gray let out a bark of laughter. "Easier said than done."

Lyon shrugged. "Yeah, well, if you care about her then you'll figure it out."

"Then I guess I'm figuring it out."

* * *

Lyon sauntered into the kitchen with Gray right on his heels. He felt a million times lighter than before. "Okay you've done enough! We're here to take over, so put us to work."

Juvia set the pot she'd been washing down, and glanced over her shoulder at them, with her eyebrow raised. "You're in a good mood."

"Yeah, well, burying eight years of mounting animosity will do that for a person," Lyon said. He made his way around the island and leaned against the counter right beside her. "You know we have a dishwasher, right?"

"It's fully loaded and already on. There's still a ton of pots and pans that need washing, and I'd rather not wait up for the first load to finish." She brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes and began peeling off the rubber gloves.

"I'll take over the dishes," Gray said, reaching out to grab the rubber gloves from Juvia. He smiled at her and then looked over to Lyon. "You can take care of the trash."

Lyon roll his eyes. "I said she could boss me around, not you."

"She shouldn't have to, we're both old enough to know what needs to be done," Gray countered.

"You sound like Mom."

"You sound like you're eight."

"Juvia," Lyon whined, and clung to her arm. "Gray's picking on me! Make him stop."

"Oh my god," Gray muttered. "I think I liked you better when you hated me."

Juvia giggled, then put on her best mom voice. "Now, now, don't make me separate you two."

Gray fixed them both with a withering glare.

Juvia and Lyon burst into peals of laughter. Juvia doubled over as Gray rolled his eyes at them and turned to start on the remaining dishes.

"Ahh, c'mon Gray. Lighten up a little," Lyon teased, as he finally managed to subside his giggling fit.

"Kind of ironic coming from you," Gray grumbled, trying to maintain his stern appearance, but Lyon caught the way the corners of his mouth twitched.

Lyon scoffed, and clutched his heart. "You wound me."

Juvia snorted and clutched her sides.

"Okay, stop you're gonna break her," Gray said, leaning over to check on Juvia, who was wheezing and half crumpled against the cupboards.

"She's fine." Lyon nudged her with his knee and she swatted him as she wiped the tears from her eyes and finally started to slow her breathing. "See, the defense feature still works."

Another fit of giggles erupted from Juvia, and she slid the rest of the way to the floor.

Lyon shot Gray a guilty look. "Okay maybe I broke her."

Gray couldn't even try to hide the shit eating grin he was wearing, and snorted in an attempt to fight back his own laughter.

Lyon sighed and crouched down next to Juvia and rubbed her back as she struggled to stifle herself. Tears streamed down her cheeks, she was panting, and most of her laughs were breathless wheezes. She managed to start to calm down, the giggles lessening enough for her to manage a few deeper breaths.

"That's it," Lyon said rubbing her back in small circles with one hand, and brushing her tears away with another. "You keep laughing like that and I'm gonna think you've finally gone full crazy."

Juvia smacked him as she tried to breath through another small fit of giggles. Thankfully it wasn't as resilient as the last. Her face was bright red when she raised her head to glare at Lyon. "Shut… up," she rasped. "I swear-" Another deep breath. "-you're trying to-" She flinched. "-kill me."

Lyon snapped his mouth shut before he could retort.

Gray squatted down beside them and held out a glass of water.

Juvia took it gratefully, but she waited another minute before she actually attempted drinking it. She downed half the glass in one go before handing it back to Gray. "Thanks."

"You gonna be okay?" Gray asked.

Juvia nodded.

Lyon took her outstretched hand and helped her back up. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Juvia braced herself against the counter, and took the glass from Gray and finished off the rest of the water. The redness was fading from her face and her breathing had steadied. "Probably just exhaustion setting in."

"Definitely. He's not that funny," Gray said.

Juvia's lips quirked into a strangled smile as she tried to glare at him.

"Okay, maybe you need to go to bed," Lyon suggested, placing a hand on her lower back.

Juvia shook her head. She let out a long breath. "I'm fine, I just need a moment. Besides there's still a ton of cleaning up to do."

"We can handle the cleanup," Lyon said.

Gray nodded. "It's been a rough week, and it's past three. Go get some rest."

Again Juvia shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Seriously," Lyon huffed. "Why are you being stubborn about this? We can handle a little cleaning, and it's not like anyone's gonna care if it doesn't all get done."

"Your mom will." Juvia dipped her head, eyes focused on her feet the second the words left her mouth.

Lyon felt his stomach twist. "She won't."

Juvia fixed him with a hard look.

Frustration mounted and Lyon averted his gaze, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll talk to her first thing tomorrow, she can't just take all this out on you."

Juvia sighed. "Lyon it's fine-"

"Like hell it is," Gray snapped.

"It is," Juvia insisted, glancing back and forth between them. "She's upset for now, but it'll pass, and I'd rather her not take it out on either of you. I just need to take a few steps back, I got too comfortable and too vocal. I'll ease off and I'm sure she'll come back around. Just give it a few days before you both go jumping on her. She's got a lot to take in."

Both Lyon and Gray frowned, but neither wanted to argue with her.

"Fine," Gray said, "you can dry the dishes. But that's it!"

Juvia smiled at him and nodded. "Aye aye, sir."

Gray blushed and his gripped tightened on the counter as she turned to grab a terry cloth.

Lyon sighed and pushed off from where he'd been leaning and went to start sorting through the piles of paper plates, plastic cutlery, and empty bottles. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they all could get to sleep.

* * *

"You should call Mered," Juvia said.

Lyon blinked. They'd been working in silence for a few minutes now, and the sudden statement caught him off guard. "Uh, I think you forgot the part where he told me not to call him ever again."

Juvia turned to face him as she continued to dry the pot in her hand. "I'm pretty sure you said that his exact words were 'call me when you come out or don't call me at all.' So, you should call him."

Lyon's lips pressed into a tight line. "I'm pretty sure that was just his dramatic way of making a point."

"Or maybe he meant it," Juvia countered, setting down the pot and picking up another from the dish rack. "Don't you think it's worth the risk to at least try?"

Lyon sighed. He wanted to say yes, but the logical part of his brain was telling him not to get his hopes up. Mered had eased off as the night went on, but it was clear he was still pissed off, and Lyon doubted that just coming out was going to fix things. "What would I even say to him? Hey, so you know how you said to call you if I came out? Well that just happened, so lets talk."

"Sounds good to me. Just, maybe loose the sarcastic tone," Juvia said, flashing him a smug grin.

Lyon glared at her in annoyance. "You're kidding, it's awful and awkward, and pathetic." He turned to Gray. "Help me out here."

"Don't drag me into this," Gray said, not even bothering to glance in Lyon's direction. "I think you should call him too, but I'm pretty much the king of foot in mouth syndrome so I'm the last person you should be asking for advice."

"It's not pathetic. You just don't like the idea of having to put yourself out there again." Juvia set down the pot and took a few steps towards Lyon. "You're just scared of being rejected again."

Lyon sighed and carded a hand through his hair. "Can you blame me? I've had zero success with dating."

Gray's head shot up and he finally turned to look at Lyon. "Really?"

"Yep, my first boyfriend dumped me two days after we came out because we started getting harassed. And Mered walked out on me a few hours into our first date. My fake relationship with Juvia lasted longer than the two combined." Lyon said with a wry smile.

"Damn, that's rough," Gray said.

Juvia rolled her eyes. "Please, if you counted all the flirting and time spent in some guy's bed, you'd probably be able to piece together a decent length for a relationship."

"That's different," Lyon countered.

"Maybe." Juvia said. She'd closed the distance between them and was able to press into his personal space to fix him with a knowing look. "You make it sound like you're undesired though, when I know you've had chances. You're just too picky."

"So?" Lyon frowned at her. He had no idea what she was getting at, but her sly grin made him nervous.

"So, the fact that you agreed to a date with Mered, having never met him or slept with him speaks volumes," Juvia pressed.

Lyon shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze.

"You like him, which is why you need to call him."

Lyon rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long sigh. "Tomorrow, it's too la- Hey!"

Juvia reached forward and plucked his phone from his pocket. She skidded backwards as he tried to grab it, clutching the phone to her chest and she scrambled away from him back around the island.

"Juvia! Don't you dare call him, it's almost four in the morning," Lyon hissed. He lunged for her and she shifted around the island keeping it between them.

"He left like an hour ago and he lives thirty minutes away. I'm sure he's still up. You're just being a coward." She started typing in the password as Lyon tried to skirt around the island. She did the same and flashed him a grin as his phone lit up.

"Don't," he warned.

Juvia ignored him and clicked on his contacts.

Lyon growled and vaulted up onto then over the island colliding with Juvia as he came down and wrestled the phone from her hands.

Juvia giggled and backed away. "Good luck."

Lyon stared down at the phone in horror as he saw she'd already hit call and the phone was ringing.

He was about to hit end when Mered's voice echoed through the line.

"Lyon?"

Lyon stared at the phone and considered hitting end anyways.

Mered sighed. "Are you okay? Last I heard you were awol." He paused waiting for Lyon to respond. "Seriously are you there? If this is a freaking pocket dial-"

"No! I-I'm here." Lyon cringed. His voice was strained and that stutter. He sounded like a preteen just hitting puberty.

"O…kay. Is everything alright?" Mered enunciated every word as though he thought Lyon might be just shy of a mental breakdown.

Which was actually a pretty accurate assumption.

"I'm fine. Good actually; and home. I did actually make it home, I'm not calling cause I'm stranded, or lost. I was just at the park down the street, kinda needed to clear my head."

"Right," Mered said.

Lyon stifled a groan, and gritted his teeth to prevent further ramblings. He had no idea what he was doing. He glanced over at Juvia to find her watching him.

Her eyes were crinkled in delight and her hand was clamped over her mouth to suppress the giggles, but he could still hear them.

He glared at her and mouthed 'what am I supposed to say?'

"So…." Agitation was starting to lace Mered's voice and Lyon tugged at his hair in frustration.

"So, umm…"

Juvia tapped on his shoulder and handed him a napkin.

Lyon took one look at it, and glared back at her. She could not be serious.

Juvia shrug and gestured to the napkin, clearly that was her go to, and she didn't have a backup plan.

Lyon drummed his fingers over the napkin and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe he was doing this. "Listen… God, okay this is stupid, but; you know how you said not to call unless I came out?"

"Yeah… look about-"

"Ikindacameouttonight," Lyon said in a rush of words. He was met with silence and his heart sputtered to a stop. His mind was screaming and pleaded for Mered to say something, anything, but he clamped his mouth shut.

It felt like an eternity before Mered finally spoke up. "What?"

Lyon ground his teeth, and clenched his fist. Honestly this boy was going to be the death of him. "I. Came. Out."

"You did?"

The hopeful lilt in Mered's voice was enough to loosen the knots in Lyon's stomach and he sighed in relief. His shoulders sagged and he leaned forward over the island counter, resting against his forearm. "Y-yeah."

"Oh my God that's great!" Mered squealed.

Lyon smiled at the elation and could almost picture Mered's reaction. His hands flailing, or him kicking his feet like an excited child.

The squealing stopped and there was a pregnant pause in the conversation. "It is great, right? I mean, they're cool and everything?"

Lyon sighed. "Yeah, I wouldn't say great; my Mom had a bit of a moment and then I had a major moment…. But I think we're good now."

"Right, sorry. I just- I mean, I thought-" Mered paused and Lyon could hear the concern and frustration in his voice. "I shouldn't have gotten so excited, I didn't mean to assume-"

"Mer, it's fine. I'm glad you were excited, it's nice that someone is."

A sharp kick to the side of his shin caused Lyon to wince. He glared at Juvia and flipped her the finger. She could get over herself since she was the one who forced him to have this conversation.

"Oh. Well cool then. Umm, did you wanna talk about it?" Mered offered.

Juvia stuck her tongue out in response, and Lyon copied her while making a face. Juvia laughed in response.

"You seem distracted," Mered said, the excitement in his voice had quickly dropped to disappointment.

"What? No." Lyon rushed to correct him. "Sorry, Juvia's just being a brat."

"Oh, well I can let you go."

Lyon's heart thundered against his chest and pushed himself off the counter to stand straight. "No I wanna talk, just give me a few seconds to find some place without an audience."

Mered's voice was strained. "You have an audience?"

"Oi, you seriously bailing on clean up again?" Gray grumbled. He frowned at Lyon.

Lyon rolled his eyes. "Just Gray and Juvia. I'm supposed to be helping with cleanup."

Mered let out a bark of laughter. "Dude, seriously, we can talk later. I don't wanna get you in shit,"

"You're not," Lyon glanced at Juvia.

She smirked and shooed him off towards the den. "Go, talk, fix this stupid mess. The trash will still be here when you get back."

Lyon smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her pulling her into a hug. He planted a quick kiss on top of her head and murmured a "thank you" before practically skipping out of the room.

"You owe me!" Juvia called after him.

Lyon laughed. He already owed her more than he'd ever be able to repay. But he couldn't deny that out of all the things she'd done for him over the years, making this call for him was probably the one he was most grateful for.

* * *

"You owe me!" Juvia called after Lyon as he pranced out of the kitchen. She watched him go with a huge grin.

That was one problem solved. It lifted some of the guilt and frustration from her shoulders. It had been a rough night, but seeing Lyon happy made it feel worthwhile.

Juvia turned and caught Gray staring at her with a pleased little smirk on his lips. Her cheeks heated, and her heart hammered in her chest. Now that she was alone with Gray her mind replayed the events of the night and dredged up the whirlwind of emotions that came with them.

The initial high she'd felt after their kiss had long since burned out and had been replaced by a huge knot of guilt.

"That was awesome. The look on his face when Mered picked up was priceless! I wish I'd had my phone out." Gray chuckled. He leaned back against the counter and smiled. "You really are a great for him."

Juvia's heart fluttered and her throat constricted. "I-"

"He probably would have taken forever to call, if he ever actually managed to-"

"I'm sorry!"

Gray's brows knitted in confusion, and he stared at her, waiting for some sort of further explanation.

Juvia wanted to swallow her tongue. She hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but having him praise her when earlier he'd been furious with her wasn't something she could handle.

Perhaps he was willing to let it go, sweep it under the rug and forget about it like every other lie she'd told him, but it was clear the pile was adding up. Pretty soon he'd end up like Gajeel, second guessing every word she said.

She could live with Gajeel's mistrust, but Gray was a whole different story. She needed him to believe her when she finally managed to tell him how she felt.

She took a deep breath. "For lying."

Gray shook his head and scoffed. "It's fine, you were looking out for Lyon. I get why you did it."

"I was, but…." Juvia took a deep breath and stepped closer to him, wringing her hands together. "that doesn't make it okay."

Gray watched her approach. His shoulders were tense but he nodded for her to continue.

Juvia stopped in front of him and leaned back against the island counter. She took a deep breath and looked deep into Gray's eyes, willing him to feel the sincerity of her words. "I hated lying to you and your family, especially after all you've done for me. I can't say I wouldn't do it again; I would do anything for Lyon, but that doesn't mean I don't think there aren't consequences. You have a right to be mad at me for it."

"I know," Gray said locking eyes with her.

Juvia froze and heart heart lodged in her throat.

"But I'm not."

Juvia let out the breath she'd been holding and her grip tightened on the counter. She felt like her legs were about to give out on her.

Gray chuckled and stepped forward into her personal space. He planted his hands on the counter on each side of her and leaned in, fixing her with a wolfish grin. "You really couldn't figure that out?"

Juvia bit her lower lip, and Gray's eyes followed the motion.

Juvia stared up at him. "I wanted to be sure. I promised I'd explain myself, but I needed to know you'd believe me."

It was Gray's turn to blush, and his eyes dropped to her lips again, then lower before darting back up. He swallowed, and ease back a bit. It was like he was some nervous school boy all of a sudden. "You did say that."

Juvia smiled and leaned forward. Her left hand reached up to play with his collar. "You forgot about that?"

"It's been a hectic night. Kinda a lot to take in," Gray said.

Juvia hummed, her eyes were fixated on his shirt as she fiddled with it. "Yeah, I can see that."

Gray's hand caught hers, stopping her.

Juvia glanced back up at him in concern. Had she overstepped? Maybe he'd changed his mind. Just because he forgave her didn't mean they were still on the same page.

"I don't really need an explanation for tonight, but I could use one for Wednesday night. You say the two of you are just friends, but I know what I heard…."

Juvia flushed, and her stomach dropped. "It's not what you think."

Gray raised an eyebrow at her. "You two weren't making out in his room?"

"N-" Juvia frowned. "Okay, we were, but we'd both had way too much to drink that night and he was heartbroken, and I wasn't in much better shape, emotionally speaking. Plus it's been months and you're, well-" She gestured at his body. "-you. And half naked most of the time-"

"So you making out with Lyon was my fault?" His tone was playful and the corners of his lips twitched as he fought not to smirk.

Juvia huffed and crossed her arms. Annoyed that he would tease her about something like that. "Partially, yes."

"Partially?"

"You can blame my cheating ex and a few too many vodka cranberries for the rest of it," Juvia said. "Either way, it meant nothing. Just a bunch of pent up frustration that lead to nothing but more frustration, and a crap ton of guilt on both our parts."

Gray nodded. "And with me?"

Juvia felt her cheeks flare up all over again and with them her frustration. "What part of that do you need explained?"

"Did you want to me to kiss you?"

Juvia scrunched her eyes closed. "Yes."

"If it had been someone else-"

"No."

Gray huffed. "You didn't let me finish."

"Didn't need to. You say things that frustrate the living hell out of me, and yet I can never stay frustrated with you." Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring into Gray's. "I wanted you to kiss me."

"Then why'd you freak out when I did?"

Juvia sighed. "Because I felt like I'd just taken advantage of my best friend by jumping him when he was vulnerable, and that things were already hanging by a thread between us without me ending up in bed with you. Especially since he'd made it clear you were off limits."

"Pretty sure I was still off limits tonight."

Juvia bit her lip and glanced aside. "You were."

"But you kissed me? Even though I gave you an out?" Gray leaned in and Juvia glanced up at him through lowered lashes.

"I wasn't thinking straight. But also, I kinda wanted to know what it would be like," Juvia admitted. "Then you went and gave me that weak little peck-"

"Excuse me? Weak?" Gray leaned in, a smirk playing on his lips. His arms caged her. "I was trying to be respectful. You made it abundantly clear that you weren't comfortable, and I shouldn't do that again."

Juvia shivered. "I gave you permission, and I didn't expect anything toe curling, but I figured you'd have at least kissed me. Our lips barely even touched."

"So you decided to grab me?" Gray countered.

Juvia shrugged. "As I said, I wasn't really thinking."

"Clearly," Gray rolled his eyes.

"Well I didn't think you'd respond quite so forcefully!"

"Why do you think I barely let myself kiss you?" Gray asked. "You've been driving me crazy for days. Flirting and being distant. And the touching? The cuddling on the couch without being able to do anything with you? It's been well over a year Juvia, and I'm not made of iron will."

Juvia shrunk back a little. Guilt pooling in her stomach. She hadn't meant to tease him all this time. "Sorry, I didn't think you were interested."

Gray stared at her incredulously. "You didn't-" He let out a long sigh. His head dipped forward and his hair fell across his forehead into his eyes.

Juvia reached up to brush away some of the strands, only to have Gray catch her hand.

He took another step forward, leaving barely an inch of space between them. His nose bumped against hers and his breath fanned over her lips. "You should know you're probably the most interesting person I've met in a long time."

Juvia's tongue slipped out to wet her lower lip. Her fingers tightened around his and she lifted her chin a little, brushing her nose against his.

"Well that went better than expected! Mered's coming over tomorr- Woah!"

Juvia practically jumped out of her skin at Lyon's exclamation.

Gray reeled back from her as if he'd been burned. He raised his hands into the air as he stared wide-eyed over her shoulder.

She placed a hand over her heart and willed it to slow to a less frantic pace.

"Am I interrupting something?" Lyon teased.

Juvia didn't need to turn around to know that he had a sly grin plastered on his face.

"Nothing happened," Gray said in a rush.

Juvia frowned at his denial. He'd been about to kiss her, there was no way in hell she was wrong about that. She glanced over her shoulder.

Lyon was indeed grinning, but he seemed more amused than anything. His stance was relaxed and his eyes held a mischievous gleam to them. There was nothing to suggest that he was upset over having caught them, and it wasn't like they were going at it.

Unless Gray thought that's where things were headed?

Juvia's cheeks flushed and she cursed Gajeel for having given Gray the idea. Not that she'd be opposed to it, but she kinda figured they'd use the bed, at least for the first time. Either way, that clearly wasn't happening now that Lyon was back.

She took a deep breath and turned, planting her hands on the counter, and leaned forward. "You were saying something about Mered?"

Lyon glanced at her, then lit up with a genuine smile. "Right, so we didn't get into much, but he's totally willing to come over and talk things out. He said he'd pop by before dinner tomorrow."

"Nice," Gray said, smiling back at him.

"Ahh! I'm so happy for you!" Juvia gushed as she bounded around the island and launched herself at Lyon, wrapping him up in a hug. "I'll be sure to cook up something special then. Oh, and I'll bake some cupcakes to celebrate!"

Lyon laughed and hugged her tight. "I want brownies."

"Okay, I can do brownies, but now can you actually help us clean up this kitchen? I'm exhausted." Juvia said, giving him a light poke in the side.

"Yes, now I can help with the kitchen, not that you two seemed all that concerned with finishing up the dishes," he said as he glanced over at the sink.

Juvia blushed and buried her face in his shoulder. "Shut it, I got you a second chance with your man, I deserved a break."

Lyon chuckled and shook his head. "Uh huh, sure. I think Gray and I should switch tasks. You're clearly too much of a distraction."

"Oi! Don't try to pawn more work off on me. Most of the dishes are done, worry about the piles of trash and all the empties strewed about the house," Gray said.

"Fine," Lyon groaned, "But no wandering hands over there, I'll be watching."

Gray rolled his eyes and turned back to finish off the dishes. "Whatever."

Juvia giggled and released Lyon from her hold, and grinned up at him. "You know, I never knew you were into voyeurism."

Lyon gaped at her, and a loud bang sounded behind her.

She giggled again. She could get used to things being like this; it would never be boring.

* * *

In the end Juvia and Gray had caved and agreed to help Lyon with the garbage, which he was grateful for. It went a lot faster with the three of them. Still it was well past four by the time they were done.

"Okay, that's good enough," Lyon declared and glanced at Juvia and Gray. "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm going to bed."

He caught the way Juvia's eyes flickered to Gray.

Gray yawned. "Yeah, me too. I'm fucking dead." He wrapped Juvia in a quick hug, before glancing at Lyon. He hesitated unsure exactly how to approach.

Lyon wasn't sure what to do either but, before he could think much more on it, he wrapped an arm around Gray and gave him a one-armed hug.

Gray returned the hug a second later, and clapped Lyon on the back as the two parted. "Night you two. See you in the morning." And with that he headed down the hall and up the stairs.

Lyon glanced at Juvia, and he could tell she was a bit disappointed. He couldn't blame her, Gray's departure was more than a little distant, compared to how they'd been up until this point. Still, it was probably for the best. She needed to get a good night's sleep, not to spend the few remaining hours before dawn making out like a pair of hormonal teenagers on the couch.

Lyon sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, guiding her towards the stairs.

Juvia hesitated when she reached them, meeting his gazed with a concerned look. "Should I still be sleeping with you? We aren't trying to keep up appearances anymore."

"I don't see why not," Lyon said,

Juvia glanced up the stairs towards Gray's bedroom door. "Mered for one."

Gray for another. Lyon thought, knowing where her concern lay.

Still, Lyon had to admit, she had a point. Mered was a bit jealous of their friendship and they didn't need to keep sharing a bed. The only problem was where would Juvia sleep, if not with him? He knew her preferred answer, but he didn't think that four in the morning was the time to be making those changes, and it would help her case with Ur either.

"That's an issue we can solve tomorrow. It's late, I'm gay, and you need sleep, preferably in a real bed. One more night isn't gonna make or break anything."

Juvia glanced at him, and sighed. Finally she nodded and made her way up the stairs with Lyon in tow.

He was pretty sure a good night's sleep would see most of their issues blown over anyway.


	23. Talk it Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyon and Mered FINALLY talk about stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah! I am so sorry for how late this chapter is. I’ve been suffering from a block and depression for the last month and a bit with all that’s been going on, but the good news is I’ve managed to work through it. I want to thank you all for your patience with this chapter, it was probably the hardest to write yet. I’ve rewritten it between three to four times now before I finally was satisfied with the result.
> 
> Either way, it’s done, it’s here. Thank you so much for all the love and support and the next chapter is two scenes in and my life is kinda back to normal so I’m hoping it’s smooth sailing from here.
> 
> I want to dedicate this chapter to Gaara, who came and fangirled with me at Anime North! That totally made my weekend and it was great getting to meet you. ^-^ Also to @chanting-to-u, who’s birthday is today! Happy birthday hun, thank you so much for getting me through the last two months. :)

Lyon paced the floor. His feet tapped against the tile and his heart raced in tandem to the sound of Juvia’s knife hitting the cutting board as she chopped vegetables. He paused and fished his phone out of his pocket, and hit the home button. The screen flashed to life. 1:19; two whole minutes had passed since he last checked it. Eleven minutes to go, provided Mered wasn’t running late.

He inhaled deeply then resumed his pacing.

“Can you stop that? You’re giving me anxiety,” Gray snapped.

Lyon paused and turned, offering Gray a guilty look. “Sorry.”

The chopping stopped and Juvia set the knife aside, she wiped her hands on the hand towel then came around the island and wrapped Lyon in a hug from behind. “You need to relax. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“But what if it’s not?”

“It’s going to be. You two already talked, he’s coming here to work things out. You’re over thinking this,” Juvia said.

“Just because he agreed to talk, doesn’t mean he’s ready to let it all go,” Lyon said.

Gray frowned and crossed his arms. “So? It’s not like you’re the only one who made mistakes or hid things, right?”

“I know but-” Lyon sighed and carded his hands through his hair.

“No buts.” Juvia tightened her hold on him. “You’ve both made mistakes, and you’ve both upset each other, but you both want to fix it. Hence the talking. Besides, it’s obvious he’s into you.”

Lyon perked up, and glanced over his shoulder at her. “You think so?”

Juvia smiled back at him and rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

Lyon felt a wave of warm and affection flow through him. “Thanks.”

“Now can you stop panicking?” Gray asked, shooting Lyon an unimpressed look.

Lyon’s mouth thinned into a straight line. “No. Now I need to go change. I don’t even know what I was thinking when I put on this shirt, but it doesn’t go with these pants and-”

The doorbell rang.

Lyon stared wide-eyed at Juvia. “Stall him. I’m gonna run upstairs and change.”

He whirled around, but Juvia grabbed his shirt before he could dash away.

“No stalling. You look fine, go talk to him,” Juvia insisted.

“Fine?” Lyon screeched. “Fine?! I can’t just look fine.”

“Damn fine then,” Gray grumbled. He stomped around the island and began herding Lyon towards the door. “If the shirt’s that big of an issue then just take it off. But whatever you do, go answer the damn door,” he said and shoved Lyon out of the kitchen.

Lyon glared back at him, before dusting himself off and straightening his outfit. He turned and took a deep breath, steeling his nerves, and marched forward as the doorbell rung again.

He made it to the door just as Mered started to ring the bell in quick succession, and hauled it open.

Mered turned and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry. Uh, I was just- umm….” He trailed off as his mind went blank. Heat rushed to his cheeks.

“S'cool.” Mered shrugged and let his gaze wander up and down Lyon’s figure. A small smirk crept onto his lips as their eyes locked. “Hey.”

Lyon swallowed. “Hey.”

They continued to stand there, staring at each other. The wind bit at Lyon’s skin, causing him to shiver.

“You gonna let him in or what?” Ultear called from the landing. “You’re letting all the heat escape.”

“Right.” Lyon fumbled backwards and Mered followed him in, closing the door behind them.

Lyon’s eyes wandered across Mered’s shoulders as he slipped the coat off, and held it out for Lyon to take. Lyon glanced down at the coat and then back up at Mered.

Ultear cleared her throat, drawing their attention. She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at Lyon and smirked. “You might want wipe the drool from your mouth.”

“I’m not drooling,” Lyon spat, his cheeks burning at the accusation.

Mered peered at his lips. “You’re right, no drool. Just gawking then.”

Ultear burst out laughing. She launched herself off the last step, bounded forward and wrapped Mered in a tight hug.

Lyon bristled, and pressed his lips together in a tight line. He couldn’t believe the two of them were mocking him.

Mered flashed Lyon a toothy grin. “Aww, someone’s pouting again.”

“Oh my God, you don’t need to look so put out,” Ultear said while rolling her eyes. “We’re just teasing you, relax a little.”

Lyon’s brow furrowed and his nose flared as he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever.”

“Aww, come on Mr. Pouty Pants,” Mered said and managed to loop his arm through Lyon’s. “You wanna talk, let’s go talk.”

Lyon’s mouth twisted. He wanted to protest the nickname, but one look at Mered’s smile, which had lost it’s teasing edge and he felt himself relenting.

He tugged Mered towards the stairs. “Come on, my room’s this way.”

“Ooo, taking me to your room, eh?”

Lyon rolled his eyes and refused to rise to the bait.

“Have fun you two!” Ultear sang as they ascended the stairs.

“It’s not like that!”

Lyon groaned. So much for not rising to the bait.

* * *

Juvia moved on auto pilot as she strained to listen to the conversation being held out in the hall. A part of her wanted to join them, but she wanted to have dinner underway before Ur and Silver got home, and she figured she’d done enough meddling at this point. Still, she listened for any sounds of distress or frustration. Her instinct to protect Lyon was still present, even though she knew he’d be fine.

Ultear’s voice echoed from up the stairs and Juvia, knife held slightly aloft, stilled. The conversation was muffled and she strained to hear, while fighting the instinct to intervene. Lyon could handle this, he wasn’t in any danger. The worst was over.

“You okay?” Gray asked.

Juvia nodded, and her gaze flickered to him, grateful for the distraction. “Yeah, sorry. Just worried.”

“Don’t be,” Gray said, as though it were as simple as that.

Of course it wasn’t. It should be, but Juvia had always been inclined to fix other people’s problems, especially when it meant she could avoid her own.

Ultear’s laughter resonated down the hall. Juvia lurched forward, a frown on her face.

Gray caught her arm before she could go any further.

She frowned at him.

“He’s fine Juvia.” Gray stared down at her, his eyes boring into her as he stepped closer. “He’s a grown man, he can handle it.”

Juvia closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of Gray’s cologne. She forced herself to relax and leaned closer to him, letting his proximity ground her. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared back up at his.

“Better?”

“Mhmm.” She reached up and rested her hand against his chest.

Gray jerked back. His hand dropped away as though he’d been burned. He turned his back to her and picked up the discarded carrots and turned on the tap.

Juvia frowned, but said nothing.

It had been like this all day. One moment Gray was caring and doting, then the next he was pulling away and freezing her out.

She kept trying to make sense of it, but at this point she was left at a loss. At first she assumed it was because other people were around. Ur’s demeanour hadn’t magically changed overnight like Lyon had hoped, so it made sense that Gray might be trying to avoid digging a deeper hole for them, and she could understand he might still be wary of Lyon’s feelings on the matter as well. Hell, she didn’t even know if Lyon had talked to Gray about her, so she didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but now?

They were alone and he was still pulling away. She had to wonder if he hadn’t changed his mind over night and decided her lying wasn’t as forgivable as he’d initially thought.

She sighed and returned to chopping the vegetables. It was going to be a long, lonely week. Ur was freezing her out, Gray was flip flopping all over the place, and Lyon was likely going to be distracted with Mered and their budding relationship. Even Silver seemed to be holding her at a distance. He’d ushered her out of the kitchen this morning with a guilty look, telling her to let him take care of breakfast. She knew it had more to do with Ur being seated at the island than anything else, but it still hurt.

She continued to tell Lyon everything was okay, but the truth was she felt like an outsider. In fact, the only person who had warmed up to her was-

“It’s time to celebrate!” Ultear strode into the kitchen like a force of nature, drawing both Gray and Juvia’s attention as she waltzed over to the wine rack and plucked a bottle of red from it.

Gray rolled his eyes. “Day drinking again Tear? I thought Mom talked to you about this.”

“Oh, don’t be such a stick in the mud. It’s a special occasion.” Ultear grabbed two wine glasses in her free hand and set them down in front of Juvia, and proceeded to uncork the wine.

“I fail to see how Lyon and Mered having a conversation qualifies as a special occasion,” Gray said.

Ultear filled the glasses almost to the brim, before pulling a cold beer from the fridge and using the magnetic bottle open to pry the cap off. She set the bottle down in front of Gray with a loud clink. “Really? Because from where I’m standing, if everything goes well Mered could end up being my actual brother. I’d stay that’s reason to celebrate.”

Gray sighed and took a swig of beer. “Getting a bit ahead of yourself, don’t ya think?”

Ultear shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, once Mom sees them happy she’ll be more inclined to ease up on her mood, which can only benefit the two of you,” she said, gesturing at Juvia and Gray.

Gray glared down at the bottle in his hand. “Mind your own business, Tear.”

Ultear smiled victoriously, turned to Juvia and raised her glass. “To our boys.”

Juvia forced a smile onto her lips, and clinked her glass against Ultear’s. Her feelings of isolation and frustration returned full force at Gray’s response and she swallowed a large gulp of wine in an attempt to drown them. She set the glass down and glanced at Gray.

His back was to her again, and he was scrubbing a potato harder than strictly necessary.

Juvia wished she could tell what he was thinking. She felt certain they were on the same page last night, but this morning it seemed like they weren’t even looking at the same book. She couldn’t figure out what had changed between them and it was driving her mad. The only thing different about her was that she was single and available. Maybe now that he could have her the allure had worn off.

She shook her head. She knew better than that. Gray wasn’t the type to go after a taken woman, Lyon had said so himself.

She raised the wine to her lips and downed half the glass, desperate to get rid of the voices that told her Lyon had lied. The ones that said Gray hadn’t even wanted her in the first place.

“That’s the spirit!” Ultear cheer and refilled the glass as Juvia set it back down.

Gray turned and frowned. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, she’s gotta cook still.”

Ultear waved him off. “Get over it. No one gave you a hard time about the stupid life choices you made. She’s been taking the brunt of Mom’s anger, you can’t really blame her for needing to take the edge off.”

Gray glanced away from Ultear’s unwavering gaze and folded his arms across his chest.

Juvia couldn’t help but think that sulking seemed to run in the family.

Ultear smiled and leaned forward, placing her hand over Juvia’s. “Just so you know, it’ll pass. She never stays mad at anyone for very long.” Ultear patted Juvia’s hand and straightened, raising her glass and motioned for Juvia to do the same. “In the meantime, I recommend getting buzzed. Makes our whole family a lot more tolerable.”

Gray responded with a disapproving grunt.

Juvia hesitated, unsure if she wanted to invite further scrutiny upon herself. Her mind wandered back to toe curling kiss under the mistletoe, and then to him recoiling not moments before Ultear walked in and she decided to say fuck it. He could figure himself out and let her know when he did.

She tipped the glass back and drank.

* * *

“So-” Lyon paced the far side of his room as his mind bombarded him with a swarm of disjointed words. Topics whirled through his head like a cyclone, leaving his thoughts in a complete disarray, and he struggled to pick a place to start.

“So….” Mered prompted, as he propped himself up on his elbow, from where he sprawled across the bed.

Lyon expelled his frustration in a long sigh and collapsed onto the desk chair. The momentum sent him rolling backwards and he crashed into his desk with a loud bang. He winced at the sound and slumped back in the chair, scrubbing his hands over his face. His words came out muffled. “This is a complete mess isn’t it?”

“Actually, you’re room’s pretty clean if you ask me,” Mered said.

Lyon pulled his hands away from his face so he could glower at Mered. “Could you take this seriously?”

Mered rolled his eyes and flopped onto his back. “Why? You’re taking this seriously enough for the both of us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lyon snapped, straightening himself up in the chair and tensing.

“It means you need to relax,” Mered said, shooting him an unimpressed look. “I’m not here to pick a fight or start slinging around accusations. I want this to work as much as you do, so chill.”

Lyon took a deep breath and forced himself to recline back into the chair. He wanted to relax, but he had no idea where this conversation was going, or what he was going to have to answer for. Never mind the fact that he wanted answers as well. For all that Lyon wanted to just pick up from Wednesday, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Mered had hidden a lot from him.

Mered huffed, and his bangs fluttered against his forehead. “You’re way too high strung, you know that?” He rolled over onto his stomach and propped himself up on his forearms so they were face to face. “Want me to start then?”

“Sure?” Lyon wasn’t exactly sure he liked putting the ball in Mered’s court, but since he couldn’t figure out where to start he didn’t have much of a choice.

“Don’t sound so eager,” Mered teased.

Lyon stuck his tongue out in reply, which made Mered chuckle and grin at him.

“There you are.”

Lyon couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah, yeah, just get on with it. I’m dying over here.”

Mered rolled his eyes. “Okay well I guess I wanted to know if what Juvia said yesterday was true. The whole bit about your ex bailing on you.”

Lyon’s stomach knotted, as he remember the guilty look Max had given him as he wrapped an arm around some girl and introduced her as his girlfriend. He tightened his grip on the arm rests. “Yeah, that happened.”

“And that’s why you freaked out about me wanting you to come out?” Mered asked.

“Pretty much.” Lyon shrugged, and rubbed the side of his chin while he pondered how to explain it more eloquently. “I just, I dunno, every time I go out on a date that’s always there in the back of my mind. It’s like everyone can see right through me, and any minute they’re gonna call me out and everything’s gonna go straight to hell.”

Mered grimaced. “Kinda did anyways, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, well, apparently I’ve got shit luck with first dates.”

“I’ll say,” Mered sighed. “That sucks, man, I wish you’d told me. I always thought you were happy being out. You made it sound like things were great down there.”

“They were, after a while. And I don’t know, I didn’t wanna tell you about all the shit parts. You messaged me looking for some hope, I didn’t wanna scare you off with all my drama and insecurities,” Lyon said.

Mered’s lips curled into a wicked little grin. “Scare me off what? I thought you weren’t interested in dating someone from around here.”

“Scare you off of being out and open about it. You’ve always been pretty sure of yourself, I didn’t wanna taint you with all my-” Lyon gestured at himself, unsure what to call the numerous issues he had surrounding his sexuality.

“Well you still shoulda told me. Woulda made it a lot easier to tell you I knew your family and stuff,” Mered said.

Lyon frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Uh, cause you freaked the second you saw where I was from?” Mered said arching an eyebrow at Lyon. “You were ready to bolt, no way in hell you woulda stuck around if I said I knew your fam.”

Lyon shot him a sheepish look, knowing he was probably right. “So why not tell me Wednesday? I mean, at that point you knew I wasn’t going anywhere.”

Mered shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought it would be cute to show up on Friday and be all, hey so, I know these guys, we’re good. I mean, looking back on it, it was a shit plan and plain dumb, but I had no idea you were terrified of coming out. Hell, I thought you were planning to come out anyways, and that that’s why you had Juvia come home with you.”

“Right, that kinda makes sense. Probably what I should have done.” Lyon sighed. “I seem to like to complicate my life a bit.”

“I’ll say. Who the hell still fakes an entire relationship in this day and age?”

“It’s called having a beard, and it’s more common than you think,” Lyon said, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

Mered shook his head and smirked at him. “If you say so.”

Silence fell between them and Lyon’s mind drifted to the latest hurdle their relationship was gonna face. He knew he ought to bring it up, but he had no idea how to broach the topic without souring the mood.

“For what it’s worth, my first boyfriend was an asshole too.” Mered locked eyes with Lyon and for once his expression was solemn. “We’d only gone on a couple dates, but I ran into him and his friends in public and he pretended not to know me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? What did you do?” Lyon asked. He felt dirty even hearing about it, and more than anything he wanted to find the asshole and punch him in the face.

“At the time, nothing. I let him walk away. Of course, that night I dumped his ass via a text message; told him it was hard enough coming out and I wasn’t gonna be anyone’s dirty little secret.”

Lyon cringed as he put two and two together. “That’s why you walked out on me, you thought I wanted to hide our relationship.”

“Pretty sure I wasn’t wrong about that one.” Mered said. “I mean, you had a whole fake relationship in place to hide the fact that you were gay.”

Lyon scratched the back of his neck. “Sure, but that was about me. I never intended to hide you, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t gonna bail. People here already talk, and it only gets worse when you give ‘em reasons.”

“No shit.” Mered scoffed shooting him an unimpressed glare. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve been out since I moved back here, and yeah, there’s looks, and comments and all that shit, and sure, when they see us together all hell’s gonna break loose, but I’m not hiding from 'em. They wanna fight, I’ll fight right back.”

“You sound like Juvia,” Lyon said with a laugh. He smiled at Mered then rolled himself towards the bed and reached out.

Mered placed his hand in Lyon’s and smiled back. “Does that mean you’ll start listening to me then?”

“Mm, maybe. She’d tell you not to hold your breath.”

Mered rolled his eyes. “You’re lucky I’ve got a soft spot for idiots.”

Lyon wrenched his hand away and shot Mered a playful glare. “You’re an ass.”

“Then it’s a good thing you like asses,” Mered replied with a shit eating grin.

“Only cute ones.”

Mered’s grin widened. “Then I’m still good.”

“I don’t know….” Lyon said, as he let the smile drop from his lips and his voice took on a somber cadence. “I’m pretty sure you outed me to Ultear.”

Mered blanched. “Listen about that-” He struggled for a few moments before his entire body slumped in defeat. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t know what else to do. I’d already agreed to come to the party, and she could tell I was upset and I just- I didn’t want her to find out when I walked in the door and you recognized me.”

Lyon arched an eyebrow and kept his features schooled into a look of reproach. “You mean the way I found out you knew my family?”

Mered stared at him, mouth popped open, and eyes wide. “Okay, that was a dick move, but I mean I’m- I…” He trailed off with a frown. “I don’t know what to say. I know I shouldn’t have, but I knew she wouldn’t care, and I- You had Juvia and I had no one, and I was hurt and scared to see you again.”

“I know.” Lyon let his lips twitch upward into a smile.

Mered’s eyes narrowed at Lyon. His palm collided with Lyon’s chest, sending the chair rolling back into the desk behind him.

Lyon cackled. “You should have seen your face.”

“Fuck you!”

Lyon grinned salaciously. “If that’s what you want.”

Mered’s face went beet red, and he glowered at Lyon. “I like you better when you’re flustered.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Lyon pushed himself up off the chair and seated himself next to Mered, taking his hand yet again, and this time raising it to his lips. Lyon glanced at Mered from over top of his knuckles and murmured. “But you’re right, I like cute asses.”

Mered looked away and pouted. “Whatever.”

Lyon snickered. He felt the weight that had been sitting on his chest rise as a silly grin spread across his face.

Mered flopped back on the bed and let out a loud sigh as he stared up at a the ceiling. “I really am sorry. I shoulda warned you about being at the party, and I shouldn’t of told Ultear without your permission; especially knowing you didn’t want to come out.”

Lyon shrugged. “I’m mostly over it. I mean, there’s a part of me that’s gonna need some time, but I don’t want that to get in the way.” He turned to face Mered. “I like you.”

“I like you too.”

Lyon’s heart leaped at the sincerity in Mered’s voice.

Concern tugged at the back of his mind, reminding him there was still one issue left. The one he didn’t want to talk about, and still had no idea how to broach without trampling the groundwork they’d just laid out. Already he regretted not bringing it up first, but it wasn’t exactly something he could have lead with either.

“What’s up?” Mered asked.

“Hmm?”

“You have thinking face. Something’s buggin’ you.”

Lyon frowned and searched his mind for the right words and came up empty. He’d never done this before. Most trans people he met were acquaintances at best, and even if they hadn’t been he knew prodding questions weren’t exactly welcome.

Still, if they were going to date they’d need to talk logistics sometime, right? Sooner seemed better than later, it was just a matter of finding the words.

“Would you spit it out already? You’re freakin’ me out,” Mered snapped.

Lyon took a shaky breath, then let the words spill out of his mouth in a rush. “I think I might have an issue with you being trans.”

Mered went ridged.

Lyon’s eye widened at what he’d said. “Shit! Sorry, no. That came out all wrong!”

Mered’s gaze met his and Lyon could see the thoughts and fears running through Mered’s mind and he rushed to correct himself. “I don’t have an issue with you- That is, you being trans isn’t an issue. I have an issue. Me. There’s something wrong with me.”

Mered was holding his breath and the tension in his shoulders hadn’t let up one bit. He pushed himself up with his arm and made a move to leave the bed.

Certain that Mered was about to walk out on him Lyon planted a hand on Mered’s chest.

Mered stopped and met Lyon’s gaze with a hollow look.

“Mer, please…. I’m sorry, I can explain. I swear it’s not like that.”

Mered took a deep breath, then another.

Lyon waited. His hand trembled in its place and he felt certain he’d messed everything up all over again.

“Okay. Explain,” Mered said at last.

Lyon let his hand fall from Mered’s chest and placed it over Mered’s hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Thank you.”

Despite his words, Mered’s face was still pinched and his expression was pained. He gave Lyon a curt nod.

Lyon knew he had to tread carefully this time, but he was grateful for the second chance.

“Look, what I meant was I have- I’ve had performance issues in the past. Namely, when I was dating Sherry… and it’s not that I see you differently; because I’m definitely still attracted to you, and turned on, and all that. I’m just afraid that if I have issues you’re gonna be dissatisfied, and eventually you’re gonna get frustrated and dump me.” Lyon held his breath and closed his eyes. If he was about to get his heart ripped out again, he didn’t want to see it coming.

Mered scoffed and his weight shifted backwards. “You’re such a dumbass.”

Lyon’s eyes flew open and he face screwed up in anger.

“Honestly, I don’t even have anything to compare you to, how the hell would I know you’re falling short on your end,” Mered said.

Lyon sighed, carded a hand through his hair, and shrugged.

Sherry wasn’t any more experienced. It hadn’t happened overnight, but eventually she’d realized something was wrong. In the end, she’d found him lacking, and even though he’d never seen her that way either, it still hurt when she cheated on him. Apparently much deeper than he’d ever thought or given credence to.

“People know when they’re not being satisfied. And maybe you’ll be patient at first, but you’re gonna get tired of having issues. You’re gonna want things to work the way they’re supposed to.”

“Pretty sure there’s a pill for that,” Mered said. His lips were quirked in a smug little smirk.

He looked so freaking seductive as he leaned back across Lyon’s bed, propped up on his elbows, that Lyon began to wonder if he wasn’t making something out of nothing.

“That’s it?” Heat bloomed on Lyon’s cheeks, and he reigned in the part of his ego that said he shouldn’t need a pill. “That’s your solution? Take a pill.”

Mered shrugged. “Solves the problem.”

“But wouldn’t it bother you?” Lyon asked.

Mered frowned and looked at him quizzically. “Wouldn’t what bother me? You’re not the first dude with a limp dick. Don’t see what that’s got to do with me.”

“I don’t-” Lyon bit back the protest, and folded his arms over his chest. “I’ve had no problems at college. Only with Sherry.” His mind flashed back to Juvia pressed against him and his skin crawled. “And one other girl.”

Mered’s eyes narrowed. “What other girl?”

The mistrust written on Mered’s face told Lyon he already suspected the answer. Lyon glanced away. He wanted to lie, and he could almost convince himself it was the right thing to do for both of them, but they’d agreed to come clean and Lyon was so sick of lying to the people that mattered most to him.

He sighed, closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate. “Juvia.”

“I thought you were just friends,” Mered hissed.

“We are.” Lyon rolled his eyes but forced himself to meet Mered’s glare. “I was drunk, and heartbroken. And I’m not saying that excuses it, but nothing ended up happening. In fact, that was pretty much the nail in the I’m gay coffin. I had like, zero interest.”

Mered pursed his lips and said nothing.

Lyon sighed and bowed his head. His shoulders slumped and he leaned forward. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but all I could think of was you, and after we both felt sick for it.” Lyon licked his lips and peered up at Mered from beneath his lashes. “I can’t tell you she means nothing to me, cause I love her with all my heart, but I can tell you that there’s room for you too. That, and I know I don’t want a relationship with her, not the kind I want with you.”

Mered stared back at him, but his face softened and finally he sighed and collapsed back on the bed. The springs creaked beneath the sudden weight and the mattress bounce. “You’re a giant fucking dork.”

Lyon blinked and he felt his lips twitch into a smile. “I am.” He watched Mered, a small frown creased Mered’s brow, but otherwise he looked more defeated than put out. Lyon bit his lip and decided to take a chance. “I could be your dork.”

Mered’s frown deepened and his eyes fluttered open and locked with Lyon’s.

Lyon’s heart stopped.

Mered rolled his eyes and rolled back up and reached out and flicked Lyon in the forehead. “Don’t be stupid, of course your my dork. I wouldn’t be here putting up with your shit if you weren’t.”

Relief washed over Lyon like a tsunami and he broke into an ear splitting grin. He launched himself forward, and flung his arms around Mered. Lyon clung to Mered as the two of them crashed back into the mattress.

Muffled curses and whines of protest met Lyon’s ears, and hands shoved at his side half-heartedly, but he paid Mered’s gripes no mind and held him tighter. The noises and squirming died down quickly and Mered settled with his head in the crook of Lyon’s shoulder.

Lyon closed his eyes, letting the moment wash over him.

“Look, I know you’re all self conscious and shit cause of your past, and so am I,” Mered said, draping his arm around Lyon’s waist, “But I’m willing to work with your shit if you’re down to try working with mine.”

Lyon’s heart fluttered and warmth spread through him.

This was happening. Mered was offering to work with him and they were actually going to do this. He was going to have a boyfriend; one that his parents would know about. Excitement thrummed through his veins. Before he could second guess himself, Lyon rolled them over and caged Mered beneath him, propping himself up on his forearms.

Lyon stared down at Mered and smirked, then slowly lowered his face.

Mered jolted beneath him. “What the hell are you doing?”

Lyon smirked and his eyes darted from Mered’s eyes, to his lips, then back again. He licked his lower lip. “Something I was hoping to do Wednesday, but never got the chance.”

“Oh.” Mered was bright red and his hands fidgeted with the hem of his sweater.

Lyon leaned onto his left arm and placed his right hand over Mered’s, stilling Mered’s hands. Lyon locked eyes with him. “Can I?” Lyon’s heart drummed against his chest.

Mered’s lips curled into a tentative smile that eventually reached his eyes. He took a deep breath, chest rising to brush against Lyon’s, then nodded.

Lyon beamed, and closed the distance between them, letting his lips brush softly against Mered’s. He pulled back a hairsbreadth before repeating the action pressing just a bit more firmly. His heart soared when Mered responded, and he melted completely into their first kiss.

* * *

It was easy for Lyon to get lost in the way Mered’s lips moved against his, and the feel of tentative touches that traced along his body. Touches that Lyon mimicked. He wasn’t usually the type to take things slow, but Mered was still inexperienced, and Lyon found himself enjoying the slow exploration and languid kisses more than he would have thought.

It made him feel cared for and cherished in a way he’d never realized he wanted, and he longed to stay there forever. Or at least the rest of the night.

Alas, the bubble bust when his parents called out to everyone from the front door, announcing their return.

Lyon found himself hunched over on the end of the bed, fighting his mounting anxiety.

He knew he shouldn’t be anxious, everyone knew he was gay and they’d accept him, but some deep seated fears still lingered in Lyon’s heart. It was one thing for them to say the words, but it was a whole other thing to be faced with him having a boyfriend. The thought of even holding hands in front of his parents sent a shock of ice down his back.

He couldn’t even fathom kissing Mered in front of them.

“You gonna be okay?” Mered’s hand rested firmly between Lyon’s shoulder blades, and moved in slow circles. It was warm and soothing. He sat beside Lyon, watching but not pressing for anything.

Lyon swallowed hard and took a shaky breath. “I think so.”

His mind conjured the image of the two of them walking down the stairs hand in hand to greet his parents and his stomach roiled. “Maybe not.”

Mered rolled his eyes then rested his chin on Lyon’s shoulder. “Talk to me.”

“About what?”

Mered elbowed his side lightly. “What do you think you dumb ass.”

Lyon bit down on his lower lip, and felt a fresh wave of shame and guilt wash over him. “I don’t trust them.”

“Trust who?”

“My parents.”

Mered sat up and studied him with a scrutinizing eye. “With what? And why?”

Lyon shrugged. “That they’re really gonna be okay with this….” He motioned at the two of them. “Us.”

“You’re overthinking. Again.” Mered huffed, with an exasperated shake of his head. “It’s not like they’re going to chase us out of the house with a pitchfork.”

“I know that. But that doesn’t mean they’re suddenly gonna stop being who they are either. Last night, the look on my Mom’s face, the way she’s been acting today….” Lyon carded his hands through his hair, and stared at his door. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach, like a ball of lead.

Mered’s hand slipped from Lyon’s back and his fingers curled around Lyon’s. His brows dipped in concern, but he said nothing. Every once in awhile he would squeeze Lyon’s hand, then slowly release the pressure.

Lyon focused on the feel of it, and the rhythm. He breathed in time with the action, in on a squeeze and then out, just as slow. The frantic gallop of his heart slowed, and the weight on his chest lifted. The tension began to bleed out, and Lyon slumped against Mered’s shoulder, and tried to rest his head against it, only to find the angle awkward. He shifted, pulling his hand free so he could wrap his arm around Mered’s waist, then returned his head to Mered’s shoulder. It still wasn’t a comfortable position, but his neck stopped feeling like it was going to snap.

“Sorry,” Lyon muttered.

Mered shook his head. “Don’t be stupid. The whole point of this dating thing is you’re not alone. I’m with you, we’ll face this shit together. Plus Tear and Juvia are here, so it’s not like we don’t have back up.”

Lyon took another deep breath and nodded.

A small strangled whine escaped Mered’s throat, and his shoulders tensed. “Stop that!”

Lyon grinned wickedly as he pulled away. “Are you ticklish?”

“No!”

Mered started to pull away but Lyon’s fingers found his sides and dug in tickling his abdomen.

Mered shrieked in protest, and flailed wildly, knocking himself off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud.

“Shit! Are you okay?” Lyon asked leaning forward to check on Mered.

Mered threw his feet and hands up in the air, blocking Lyon’s path. “Don’t even try it!”

“I’m trying to check if you’re okay!” Lyon huffed. He towered over Mered, arms crossed and lips set in a thin line.

Mered glared up at Lyon, limbs still flailing in the air. “That’s what you all say, but it’s not true. It’s a ploy and I’m not falling for it!”

Lyon rolled his eyes. “You must have hit your head, that’s retarded.”

“Dude,” Mered frowned at him. “Not cool.”

Lyon arched his brow, uncertain what Mered was getting at.

“Seriously, going after the mentally challenged?”

Lyon felt a rush of embarrassment and guilt hit him. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Mered stared back at him unimpressed. “No one ever does.”

“Right.” Lyon cringed at his own words and remembered the way he’d felt when Gray had called Natsu gay. “Sorry, that was shitty.”

“It’s fine, just work on it.”

“Right.” Lyon nodded. He sighed, frustrated that Gray wasn’t the only one who’d picked up a few bad habits. He wondered how many other things he needed to work on.

“So, you ready to do this?” Mered asked.

Lyon sighed and carded his fingers through his hair. “No. But I doubt I’m ever gonna be so let’s just get it over with.”

Mered rolled his eyes. “Well that’s romantic.”

Lyon gave him a light shove. “Shut up, you know what I mean!”

“Do I?” Mered asked, arching an eyebrow at him. “You know when I agreed to date you I was under the impression there’d be some grand romantic gestures before we turned into a boring married couple.”

Lyon sighed and pushed himself to his feet, then turned and presented his hand to Mered. “Would you do me the honour of allowing you to present you to my family as my partner.”

Mered broke out into a goofy grin and slid his hand into Lyon’s and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I can agree to that.”

“And you complain about me not being romantic?” Lyon scoffed.

“Hey, I never sold myself as romantic. You knew I was a snarky asshole from day one. You agreed to date me anyways, so that’s your problem,” Mered said.

“I suppose it is. I suppose it is….” Lyon said, hauling Mered to his feet. “Well, come on boyfriend, time to meet the parents.”

* * *

Mered bounded into the kitchen, dragging Lyon in after him by the hand. They stopped in the entrance and Mered beamed at Lyon’s family and raised their intertwined hands in the air. “Victory!”

Heat burned Lyon’s cheeks and neck, and he kept his eyes locked on Mered’s face, terrified to see the reactions from his family.

Shrieks of delight erupted in the room as Juvia and Ultear charged around the island and launched themselves at Lyon and Mered. Lyon winced as they went from yelling across the kitchen to yelling in his ears, as they wrapped him and Mered in a hug. Despite the discomfort to his ears he hugged them back.

Ultear broke off from the group hug, and dragged Mered out with her, so she could bombard him with questions.

Juvia hung from Lyon’s shoulders like a rag doll, swaying in his arms. She buried her face in Lyon’s neck, and he felt like if he let her go she might slide down the the floor.

He could smell wine on her lips and glanced at the island. Two half empty wine glasses sat next to two empty bottles of wine. Lyon mentally cursed Ultear as he pulled Juvia a little closer. “I take it you’ve been trying to keep up with Ultear,” he muttered.

“Mmm, maybe,” Juvia hummed in his ear, with a small shrug.

“She’s been matching her glass for glass for the last couple hours,” Gray said, frowning at Juvia’s back.

Juvia bit her lower lip and glanced back at Gray from over her shoulder. “We offered you some too.”

Gray folded his arms across his chest and glanced away, looking more than a little annoyed.

Juvia stiffened a little and the smile she’d been sporting fell from her lips at his disapproval. Her brow furrowed, but she didn’t move from Lyon’s side.

Lyon cradled her a little closer and finally risked a glance at his parents.

Silver beamed back at him. It was a smile that radiated warmth, and eased most of the tension Lyon felt.

Ur’s expression was a mask of complete neutrality, but her shoulders were tight and she stood just a little too straight.

Lyon felt himself standing straighter in response. He couldn’t tell if it was Juvia, or his relationship, but something was bothering her and his gut twisted over it.

He opened his mouth to say something, to call out to her, or draw her attention, but Silver had sauntered over and proceeded to wrap an arm around him and pat his back.

“I’m happy for you, Kid. Both of you,” Silver said, glancing over at Mered and opening his other arm to invite Mered in as well.

Juvia slipped from Lyon’s side as Mered came to join the hug and she wobbled over and grabbed her glass from the counter, taking another sip.

“Same,” Gray announce. He didn’t move from his place, but he met Lyon’s gaze with a steady and genuine look. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

Lyon smiled at that, and he glanced at Mered. “I really am.”

“You better be,” Mered teased, and grinned back devilishly.

Lyon pouted. “You’re never going to say anything nice to me are you?”

“Mmm, probably not… maybe for your birthday or something.”

Lyon rolled his eyes and wondered exactly what he’d signed up for, but his lips were still quirked into a smile.

“Well, I think dinner is ready,” Ur announce and glanced at Lyon and Mered. “Could you two go set the table?”

Before anyone could respond she turned and started scooping the pasta into a large casserole dish.

Lyon’s heart dropped. The lack of acknowledgement hurt, and confirmed his suspicions that Juvia wasn’t, the only one in the dog house anymore.

Mered placed a hand on Lyon’s shoulder, and gave it a squeeze, as Silver and Gray shot him concerned looks.

Lyon glanced nervously towards Juvia and then to Ultear.

Both were scowling, and Juvia turned to meet his gaze.

Lyon shook his head. Picking a fight before dinner didn’t seem like a good idea and he doubted Ur was in any state to actually listen to what Juvia had to say.

Juvia huffed and grabbed the stack of plates herself and marched into the dining room.

Lyon lingered, willing his mother to turn around and face him, but she kept her back firmly turned to the rest of them, even after the pasta was transferred. Lyon sighed, and his shoulders sagged and he turned and followed Juvia into the dining room.

He wanted to be angry, or hurt, but the truth was the only thing he felt was numb.


	24. The Heart Of The Matter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots and lots of heartfelt talks. Everyone's talking right about now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet. Over 12k and I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking, but I hope you all enjoy it. :)

Lyon had been sure the oppressive tension from the kitchen would bleed into dinner. How could it not, when his own mother couldn't even bring herself to look at him?

His heart was heavy, as he took his seat at the table, with Mered taking the middle seat next to him.

Juvia lingered by the head of the table.

It was the seat on the other side of him, and where Ur usually sat. He hated how badly he wanted Juvia to sit there instead, but he knew better than to let her.

Before Lyon could say anything Silver slipped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you take a seat sweetie," He said, and gestured to the spot across from Lyon.

Juvia's eyes lingered on Ur's seat, even as she obeyed, before shooting Silver a pleading look.

He smiled down at her, and then met Lyon's gaze, and pulled back the chair. "You don't mind if I sit here tonight do you?"

"No," Lyon said with a shake of his head. His heart hammered frantically against his chest, as he wondered how his mom would react.

Gray came in next, and clapped his hand on Lyon's shoulder before sliding into the seat next to Mered, and Ultear followed. She placed the salad down on the table and dropped down next to Juvia, leaving only one place left for Ur. One that kept as much distance between her and him as possible. The gesture wasn't lost on him, and he felt himself tearing up.

Ur froze, casserole dish in hand, as she entered the dining room. Her eyes drifted over them all, as she took in the change of seating. Lyon could pinpoint the moment she came to the same conclusion he had. Her lips thinned and she straightened under their collective gazes, then strode to the far end of the table, and set the casserole dish down with a heavy clank.

Silence fell over the room, like a heavy down blanket in the height of summer; smothering.

"So," Juvia said, and took a long sip of wine. She placed the glass down and smiled at him and Mered, a devious little glint in her eye. "How'd you two meet?"

Lyon frowned. "You know how we met."

"I do. But they don't." She pointed round the table, before resting her chin on her knuckles.

"It's true," Ultear chimed in, and equally large smile on her lips. "And I'm rather put out about it." She and Juvia shared a look and broke out into giggles.

Juvia flashed him another smile, then turned to Mered. "Come on, tell them how you met. It's cute."

Mered raised an eyebrow at her "Uh, we met on a gay dating site. Not really sure how that's cute."

Juvia rolled her eyes at him. "You sought him out, looking for someone from the area to talk to. And Lyon was all, 'okay, but we're only friends cause I'm not interested in dating people from my home town,' even though I could tell he was actually interested. I mean it was obvious."

"I wasn't interested. You just assumed I was because I said he was cute," Lyon said.

Juvia rolled her eyes and pointed at him. "That's what you always say before you're about to go and hook up with a guy. It's like subconscious Lyon code for 'want to bang'

Heat raced up the back of Lyon's neck and blazed across his cheeks.

"Really now?" Mered said, eyeing him with a wicked grin.

Lyon shot Juvia a scathing glare. "You're drunk."

"Mmm, maybe a bit. But doesn't mean I'm lying."

"You could always tell the story yourself if you don't like the way she's telling it," Ultear suggested.

Lyon sighed in resignation before beginning the tale over again.

* * *

Lyon would stop as he spoke so Mered could add his perspective, or to answer the questions Juvia and Ultear peppered him with, and before long Gray and Silver to joined the conversation with questions of their own. Lyon found himself caught up in the moment, and he almost forgot about Ur. Almost.

Her silence hung in the back of his mind. He tried to catch her eye throughout dinner, but she spent the time staring down at her food, completely shut off from the rest of them. As soon as the meal was done, she excused herself and retreated upstairs, leaving the clean up to the rest of them.

Silver had insisted he'd take care of it, and Gray offered to help, since Juvia and Ultear were too drunk to be of much help. Instead the two women dragged Lyon and Mered into the living room, to continue their interrogation.

Ultear wanted to be filled in on every detail of their relationship, and Juvia was eager to fill in and of the part that Lyon tried to skim over. He didn't mind though, it was a nice distraction.

But try as he might, Lyon couldn't shake the concern he felt for his mom. He knew he shouldn't feel responsible. She was an adult, and no one had actively excluded her from the conversation. Unfortunately, too many years spent looking after her made it impossible for him to ignore her distress.

“Hey, I’m gonna go check on Mom,” he said, interrupting the conversation between the others.

They all stopped talking, and shot him varying levels of concerned looks.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Mered asked.

“You don’t need to; I can go,” Ultear offered.

Juvia placed her hand over his. “We can go with you.”

Lyon shook his head. “It’s fine, I kinda think this is something I gotta do. We used to talk about everything, but I've been lying to her for years now. I get that part of that's on her, but it's on me too.”

Juvia looked like she wanted to protest, but before she could Mered waved Lyon off. “Fine, go do what you gotta do, I’ll keep these two occupied.”

“Thanks,” Lyon said with a smile.

“Just holler if you need us,” Ultear said, leaning back into the couch.

Juvia had yet to let go of Lyon’s hand, and he gave her hand a squeeze.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Juvia sighed, nodded and finally let go. “Okay.”

Lyon knew it wasn't; but she let him go anyways.

Lyon turned and headed for the stairs, before his courage gave out. He stopped as his foot hit the first step. Fear rushed at him, and he wondered if she'd even want to see him. The memory of her turning her back on him in the kitchen burned in his mind.

He closed his eyes and his fingers dug into the wooden banister, and he breathed deep. He opened his eyes and climbed the next stair, then the one after, refusing to stop a second time despite all the doubt. If she turned him away, so be it. At least he could say he tried.

Lyon knocked on the door, and waited with baited breath. His hand shook as he rested it against the doorknob.

* * *

Ur didn’t answer.

Lyon took a steadying breath, twisted the doorknob and inched the door open. “Mom?”

“Lyon?” Ur’s voice was strained.

Lyon knew from experience she was near tears. “Can I come in?” His hand trembled, and he waited for her to turn him away.

She never had before, but the years where he’d been her confidant felt like a lifetime ago. A lifetime where he was still the perfect son.

Time stretched the silence that came from the other room felt deafening.

Finally Ur’s answer came through the door. “Of course.”

Relief rushed through him. He pushed open the door, and stepped into the room.

Ur sat at the end of the large king-sized bed with her head in her hands.

She looked up at him as he entered, and wiped her eyes.

Lyon, caught the shimmer of tears on her cheeks and steeled himself as shut the door behind him. He approached slowly and eased himself down beside her. He fought the urge to wind his left arm around her shoulder and pull her into him, as he once would have. Instead he hunched forward and rested his forearms on his knees.

He swallowed and forced the question that was churning in his mind out of his mouth before he could lose the courage. “You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”

Ur blinked at him, then buried her head in her hands all over again and sobbed.

Lyon jolted upright and stared at her wide-eyed. Guilt rose like bile in his throat, but he had no idea what to do about it. He was supposed to be her shoulder to cry on, not the source of her tears.

Never mind the ache that clawed at his heart, and the tears that pricked his own eyes. A sense of betrayal clashed with the guilt. It left him feeling awkward and impotent.

He reached his hand out anyways, and placed it gingerly on her back, running it up and down as she continued to sob. Words of comfort warred in his mind with accusations and he kept his mouth sealed tight for fear the wrong thing would slip free.

Instead he waited, and let her cry it out.

It was a whole new form of torture, sitting there, staring at the walls and ceiling, waiting for her to stop. It felt like an eternity in hell had passed before her sobs began to subside.

Ur straightened and wiped the tears from her face yet again. She took a deep breath and murmured, “I’m sorry, I should not be crying like this to you.”

Lyon continued to stroke her back, as he met her eyes. “It’s fine, it’s what I’m here for.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Ur said, with a shake of her head. “You’re my child, I should be the one supporting you, not the other way around.”

Lyon wasn’t sure what to say to that. Deep down he knew she was right, but that didn't ease the guilt. It didn't change the fact that he'd always gone out of his way to support her, and she'd let him for so long that it was now an ingrained instinct. He had no polite answer, so he shrugged instead.

“You shouldn’t have to ask if I’m disappointed either. I should be happy for you, I want to be happy for you… I just….” Ur trailed off and frowned.

“You’re just not.”

Ur winced. “I feel like a terrible person for even thinking it, but I- I imagined something so different for you. I realize that I don’t get to decide your life, and that you can’t control how you feel, or who you love. I’m not disappointed in you, or by you, I just can’t wrap my head around this. It’s too much, too fast. You loved Sherry, you loved Juvia.”

Lyon sighed. “I never loved Sherry. I mean, I cared about her, you can’t not care about someone you’re that close to for three years, but that’s not the same as love. And Juvia- Juvia’s something else entirely. Like a platonic soulmate or something. I love her more than words but there’s nothing there in the physical department.”

“But wouldn’t it be the same with Mered? I mean, how does that even work?” Ur asked.

Anger flared in Lyon’s heart and he glowered at her. “One, it is different; and two, how is that an appropriate thing to ask me? We may talk openly about stuff, but usually you draw the line at the inner workings of my sex life.”

Ur gaped at him and her cheeks went crimson.

The silence stretched between them and Lyon could see her struggling to form a response. It was a surreal experience; his mom always had a response at the ready, and Lyon had never seen her left speechless.

“You’re right,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “That was uncalled for, and crossed several lines. I’m sorry.”

Lyon’s anger began to dwindle when met the pitiful look she was giving him. He tried to cling to it, knowing he had every right to be offended by what she'd said, but deep down he knew she hadn't meant it maliciously.

It still bothered him, but the initial sting of her words was subsiding. In its wake he was left with a hollow ache. More than anything he wanted her acceptance, along with the unconditional love and support he'd received in his childhood. Only he was an adult now, and he knew that nothing was unconditional. He wasn't going to get what he wanted by demanding it, nor would he get it from condemning her for saying the wrong thing.

His fear was that she wouldn't want to accept him, to deal with this part of him. But facing her now, he could see his own guilt mirrored back at him. Guilt that stemmed from falling short of the expectations of someone you loved.

Lyon sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her into a half hug and resting his head on top of hers. He planted a kiss on the crown of her head. “I know you didn’t mean it. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt, but we can work on that.”

“You mean I can work on it,” Ur said wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. “As much as I'd like to share the blame, this isn’t your shortcoming; it’s mine. I shouldn't be so upset, there's no reason for it."

"But you are," Lyon pointed out.

"But I am." She stared at him, sorrow and regret deepening the lines on her face and aging her before his eyes. "I always thought of myself as open minded. I was so mad at Juvia for even daring to question us, and it turns out she had every right to."

Lyon shook his head and laid his hand over hers. "Juvia had her reasons to say what she did, but she wasn't trying to paint you all as horrible people."

"No just prejudice."

"Mother," Lyon barked in reproach.

Ur opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it when she met his gaze. Her shoulders sagged and she blew the words away in a long exhale. "Sorry."

Lyon pressed his lips into a tight line.

Lyon pressed his lips into a tight line. “Okay, but maybe part of that is her being frustrated on my behalf. It's not like I was in a position to defend myself. I mean, how would you feel if you were in a room full of people badmouthing me without knowing they were?”

Ur’s scowl morphed into a pensive frown as she mulled over his words.

Lyon flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was disappointed that she still wasn’t particularly receptive to what he had to say, but he had to accept that she was absorbing a lot, and it might be overwhelming for her.

At least she was willing to acknowledge she wasn’t in the right, and wanted to make changes. That had to count for something. He just hoped she’d give Juvia a second chance while she was at it.

Ur laid down next to him and turned her head to face him. “This whole fake dating thing was really your idea?”

“Yep, all me. Not that was hard to convince her. She’s always been super protective like that. She also might have been under the impression you were all rednecks,” he admitted.

Ur scowled at him and he shot her a sheepish smile.

“Does she have feelings for you? Romantically?”

“No. I mean, there’s some attraction, but I don't think she's let herself get too attached. She knows I’m gay, ‘sides, I’m not exactly her type.”

Ur eyed him. “I see. And what exactly is her type?”

“Tall, dark hair, emotionally unavailable,” Lyon teased, and Ur shot him a reproachful look. “Hey, tell me how that’s not true. Anyways, I tried to warn her off him, but they’ve been hanging out at night and he makes her happy. So, you know, I’m over it. Also I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gray smitten with anyone, so there’s that to consider.”

“Are you trying to sell me something, or what?” Ur said.

Lyon shrugged. “Just saying they’re both adults and if I can get over having to share her with Gray, maybe you can get over your misunderstandings with her and remember that up until last night you liked Juvia.”

Ur sighed, but her lips twitched upward into a hint of a smile. “I suppose. I did say that you and Gray not fighting would be a miracle, and I suppose I owe some of that to Juvia….”

“All of it,” Lyon amended. “I was pretty stuck in my resentment.”

“That you were.” Ur laced her fingers with his. “Though I guess a large part of that’s our fault.”

“Partially, but I could have spoken up more. It might have changed a lot of things.”

Ur hummed an agreement.

Lyon thought about how different things would have been if he’d just told his family he was gay when he realized it. It would have been tough at first, but he had a feeling things would have been different between him and Gray. He might never have moved away from home. “Is it bad that I don’t regret it as much as I probably should?”

Ur sat up, and turned to him, bracing herself on her forearm. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if I’d told you, things would have been better. Not perfect, but probably good enough that I never would have left, and then I never would have met Juvia….” Lyon trailed off and glanced at the door.

“She really means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

Lyon met her gaze and nodded. “Yeah. More than I ever put into words. She’s gotten me through a lot, taught me to stand up for myself, fed me.”

“Fine, fine. I get the point and I’ll try to stop taking my frustrations out on her,” Ur huffed.

“Thanks Mom.” He wrapped her in another hug, and they lay on the bed like they used to when he was eight, curled up in each other’s arms for comfort.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a step forward, and sometimes that’s all you can ask.

* * *

“Do you have to go?” Lyon said, winding his arms tighter around Mered waist.

Mered strained against Lyon’s hold to grab the scarf and hat Ultear was holding out for him. “Considering tomorrow is Christmas and I already ditched the parentals to come see you, I’m gonna say yeah, I kinda need to go.”

Lyon pouted, and clung to Mered, leaning on him like a dead weight. “But-”

“Oh my god! Stop clinging, you weigh a ton!” Mered said and attempted to pry Lyon’s hands off him and shove him off at the same time.

“I do not!” Lyon wailed, clawing at Mered to keep himself from being dumped on the floor. “Juvia, tell him I’m not heavy.”

Juvia arched a brow at Lyon, from her seat on the staircase and smirked. “I dunno, you’ve been binging on an awful lot of sweets since Wednesday, I wouldn’t be surprised if you packed on some weight.”

“Traitor.” Lyon glared at her over Mered’s shoulder.

“Oh for heaven’s sake Lyon, get off him and stop being so dramatic,” Ur said as she approached from the kitchen with a large bag in hand. “It’s one day, and you still have an entire week before you go home. You’ll survive.”

Lyon released Mered and sunk to the ground dejectedly. He curled in on himself, clutching his heart. “Even my own mother…. No one loves me anymore, they’ve all abandoned me for you.”

Mered patted his head. “There, there.”

Lyon swatted Mered’s hand away. “Don’t ruin the hair, and don’t patronize me either.”

“Good to know your priorities,” Mered said.

Lyon pouted up at him. “That’s mean.”

“Also very accurate,” Juvia added, and grinned wolfishly when he glowered at her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”

Juvia shrugged. “I’m always on your side. But I need to earn back some brownie points with your boyfriend if I’m gonna bail you out the next time you put your foot in your mouth.”

“Isn’t it kinda counter productive if you tell me that’s what you’re doing?” Mered asked.

“Yeah, but I’m tired,” Juvia said and gestured in Lyon’s direction. “And if it gets him to stop sulking long enough for you to leave, are you really gonna hold it against me?”

Mered pondered her words, his eyes darting back and forth between Juvia and Lyon in some sort of internal debate.

“Just take the way out sweetie, otherwise we’ll be standing here 'til the sun comes up,” Ur said and stepped forward to wrap Mered in a warm hug and hand him the bag. “That’s for you and your parents.”

“Thanks,” Mered said, eyeing Ur for a moment before shrugging and turning to hug Ultear.

“Get home safe,” Ultear said, hugging him back.

Mered nodded and released her.

“You headed out already?” Silver asked, appearing behind Ur and draping his arm around her waist.

“Yep. You know my rents, up at the crack of dawn for presents,” Mered muttered.

Silver chuckled. “I’ll trade you, this lot won’t get up before ten if I’m lucky, and only if there’s coffee ready for them.”

“Done deal,” Lyon said, “You go spend the night with Mered’s folks and Mered can stay here with us and sleep in. Win, win.”

There were a chorus of exasperated groans and muttering following Lyon’s suggestion.

“What? It was just a suggestion.”

Mered shook his head and leaned down, capturing Lyon’s lips in a quick kiss. “You’re a pain in the ass, I’ll see you soon.” He rose and turned in the direction of the living room and hollered. “Bye Gray!”

“Later!”

Mered turned and waved at the rest of the family, and they waved back. “Night, thanks for having me.”

“You’re welcome,” Ur said.

“See you soon kid.”

“Call me when you get home safe,” Ultear said.

Just as Mered pulled open the door, Lyon hauled himself back onto his feet. “I’ll see you out.”

“Sure,” Mered said, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

Lyon looked forward to kissing it off him as soon as they had some privacy.

Mered slipped out the door and Lyon followed, but glanced back and caught sight of the soft smile his mom gave him as he shut the door. His heart fluttered happily, before he turned and followed Mered to his car.

* * *

Juvia closed her eyes and relished the feel of cold water sliding down her throat. It was refreshing, and helped clear away some of the drunken haze that had been clouding her mind.

“You should have another one of those before we head to bed,” Lyon said. His hand rested on her lower back as he reclined against the couch.

Juvia nodded and stretched forward to set the empty bottle on the coffee table. “Will do.”

Her gaze flickered over to the love seat, and her lips curled into a smile when she found Gray staring at her.

His eyes flicked up to meet hers and a soft blush dusted his cheeks.

Juvia bit down on her lip, to repress the giggle that threatened to burst from her lips. He was just too cute sometimes.

“I still can’t believe you kept up with Ultear tonight," Lyon said, as Juvia straightened. "You’re gonna feel it in the morning.”

“Please, I’ll be fine by the time the rest of you wake up,” Juvia shot back. She'd definitely had too much tonight, but she'd slowed down after dinner, and started nursing her wine instead of gulping it. As it was, she was feeling pretty good. All warm and fuzzy, which was a lot better than where she started the day.

Lyon scoffed. "Sure. We'll see how well that holds up tomorrow."

"Speaking of tomorrow, maybe hold off on another drinking binge. You're gonna make yourself sick," Gray said, his brow dipped into a concerned frown.

Juvia sank back into the couch with her arms crossed. She wanted to accuse him of being a spoil sport, but decided muttering under her breath was childish. Also it didn't seem likely to encourage his affections.

"I'm with Gray on this one. You're miserable to be around when you're drunk on wine, it makes you depressed," Lyon said.

Juvia scowled at him. "Not much of a difference between drunk me and regular me then, is there?"

Gray frowned at her.

Lyon sighed and carded his hand through his hair, then slipped his arm around her shoulders. "I know things haven't exactly been great today, but I talked to my mom. She promised to ease up on you."

Juvia wanted to protest that she didn’t need the help, but she bit it back. The truth was, dealing with Ur’s displeasure had been frustrating and hurt a lot more than she cared to admit. The relief that washed over her when Ur had said goodnight to her earlier was proof of it.

She sighed and snuggled into Lyon's side, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. “Thanks.”

He hummed and ran his hand along her arm comfortingly.

“You look tired,” Gray said, drawing Juvia’s and Lyon's attention. His eyes skimmed over Juvia's figure then locked with hers. "It's been a rough couple days, you should consider making it an early night tonight."

A smile smile tugged at the corner of Juvia’s lips. His concern sent her heart into a flutter and coated her cheeks with a warm blush.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Lyon seconded. “Lord knows you’ll be up at the crack of dawn.”

Juvia hummed and snuggled into Lyon’s chest. “I’m fine.”

“You always say that. Gray’s right, you need some sleep. Head up I’ll grab a bottle from the fridge and bring it up to you,” Lyon said.

Juvia frowned and pulled back, twisting to face him. “No.”

“No?”

“I’m not sleeping up stairs tonight.”

Lyon rolled his eyes. “I thought we covered this last night. I’m gay, you’re a girl, it’s not a big deal.”

“You have a boyfriend now,” Juvia countered.

“Mered knows there’s nothing going on between us.”

“He’s still not comfortable with how close we are.” Juvia locked eyes with Lyon and he frowned back.

“You’re my best friend he’s gonna need to get over that.”

“Yeah, and eventually he will.” Juvia laid her hand over Lyon’s. “But in the meantime you could try to make it easier on him? Sort of a show of faith?”

“By having you sleep on the couch?” Lyon said, displeasure clear in his voice.

Juvia shrugged. “It’s a nice couch. It’s not even that much worse than the dorm beds.”

Lyon scowled at her.

“It saves you having to kick me out of the bed when Mered spends the night,” Juvia said, a suggestive grin tugged at her lips.

Lyon gaped at her and his cheeks went red. “I- We’re not there yet.”

“Maybe not, but you can’t tell me you don’t want to be.” She locked eyes with him and straightened her back. “You really want to make Mered feel like he’s putting me out for staying over?”

“No….” Lyon glanced away a pensive look on his face.

“So then, I’m sleeping on the couch.”

Lyon frown and glanced at Gray, and Juvia followed suit.

“Oi! Don’t look at me, I was done with this conversation the second Mered spending the night came up. Certain things I just don’t want to know about,” Gray muttered the last part.

Lyon glowered at him. “Oh sure, say that now. Woulda been nice if you felt that way when I had to listen to you and Bacchus go on about your flock of floozies.”

Gray had the sense of mind to look guilty. “Yeah, well- Okay, point made, but trust me I have no intention of talking to you about any future partners.”

Juvia’s heart leapt as his gaze flickered to her before flickering away.

“I doubt you’d be able to tell me anything I haven’t already heard,” Lyon said, with a wicked grin.

Gray scowled at him and Juvia smacked him.

“I’ll still pass on getting the details of the inner workings of your sex life thank you,” Gray said, rising from the couch. He turned to Juvia. “I’ll grab you a water and you two can have whatever conversation you want while I’m safely in another room. Holler when it’s safe.”

Lyon cackled. “Suit yourself.”

Gray shook his head and fled from the room

Juvia bit her lip, eyes trained on his back until he disappeared from view. Once he was gone she let out a disappointed sigh and glanced sideways at Lyon. "I'm not sleeping with you anymore."

"Why not? And don't try to tell me it's for Mered's sake because we both know that's complete and utter B S."

"It's not bullshit. He's totally insecure about how close we are," Juvia huffed.

Lyon fixed her with a disapproving stare. "But that's not why you're giving up your bed. I thought we talked about this, no more lying."

Juvia averted her gaze and her fingers traced patterns in the couch. She was pretty sure that telling him the truth would only backfire on her, but she had promised she'd be more honest with him. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to Gray about, you know, us. I thought we were kinda on the same page, but he's been acting distant ever since he found out."

“Gray's always distant, that's just who he is,” Lyon said, with a dismissive wave.

Juvia's hands slammed against the couch cushions with a muffled thud.

Lyon jumped and stared at her wide-eyed.

She glowered at him out of the corner of her eye, and spoke through gritted teeth. "See, this is why I don't talk to you. There's no point, you don't even take me seriously."

"Juvia...." He sighed and his shoulders dropped. He ran a hand through his hair then turned to her. His eyes were sorrowful and his brow was furrowed. "Maybe he’s trying not to piss my mom off. She’s been taking shit out on, and anyone with eyes can see you're not actually okay. And she's been cold to him too. Anything that starts between you too right now is just gonna make it worse.”

Juvia's eyes softened and she stared at her hands folded in her lap. She hadn't really thought about it like that. It made sense. Gray had seemed more protective than usual, and he was always more distant when other people where around.

"I guess...." She frowned and turned to Lyon. "You told him you're okay with it, right?"

Lyon rolled his eyes, and draped his arm across her shoulders, and pulled her in for a hug. "Of course. Scout's honour."

Juvia curled into him, and wrapped her arms around him, letting her head fall to his shoulder. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was off.

Lyon tugged her up against him and pressed his lips to the crown of her head. “It’ll be fine. You’ll see. Just come to bed. You’re over tired, and over thinking all this."

Juvia shook her head. “I’m still not sleeping with you.”

“He knows we’re not sleeping together. Mered knows too.”

“I don’t care what they know. I’m gonna end up on this couch eventually, it’s fine.”

“It’s not-“ Lyon growled. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?”

Juvia buried her face deeper into his shoulder, as heat crept up the back of her neck. “He might ask me to… join him.”

Lyon stiffened beneath her.

“Is that really so bad to hope for?” she asked.

Lyon sighed and there was a soft thunk as his head hit the back of the couch. “You need sleep Juvia.”

“I know, but-“

“No, no buts. Sex is not sleep. More importantly, you two need to talk about shit, and figure some things out. We’re not here forever,” Lyon said.

Juvia pulled away from him and glared back at him. She knew he was right, deep down, but she really didn’t want to talk anymore.

He stared back at her, daring her to argue.

Juvia took a deep breath and slumped back against him. He was right. She was over tired and over sensitive, and still drunk enough that everything was floating to the surface.

Lyon ran his hand along her back, and pulled her back into him.

She collapsed against his chest, not having it in her to fight more. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.

“I just don’t get it,” she whimpered, “what’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why’s he holding back now?”

Lyon sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, and I’m not the person you should be asking.”

Juvia closed her eyes trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. “Please let me stay here. Please. I just want him to know I’m not- I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you.”

“That’s the heart of it?”

Juvia nodded.

Lyon sighed again and shifted, pushing her up and off of him. He scrubbed his hand over his face, and when he met her eyes, Juvia could see the resignation written there. “Okay. Sleep here if you want, just know you’ve got a bed if you want it.”

Juvia smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He pushed himself up off the couch and plodded into the hall. “Oi, Gray, you’re safe from the scary gay sex talk.”

“Yippie.” Juvia could practically hear the eye roll in Gray’s voice and she had to smile.

She got up with a groan and dragged her feet across the room to flop against Lyon. She meant it as a hug, but it was more or less him holding her up. “Night.”

“So you decided you’re just gonna sleep on Lyon in the hallway then?” Gray chuckled as he sauntered towards them holding a water bottle.

Juvia hummed and nuzzled her cheek against Lyon’s chest. “Yep. Perfect compromise.”

“Actually, she’s sleeping on the couch,” Lyon said, as he pried her off of him. He gave her a light shove, sending her stumbling into Gray, who fumble to catch her. “Be a dear and see that she gets there.” With that he hurried up the stairs, calling out a good night as he went.

Juvia struggled to find her footing, as she clung to Gray. She was sure she was beat red.

His hands slid across her back and around her waist to help steady her. His lips brushed against the shell of her ear. "Do I need to carry you?"

Juvia's cheeks burned, and she wasn't sure it was entirely from embarrassment. “You don’t have to, I can walk.”

“You sure?”

Juvia meant to say yes, but all coherent thoughts disappeared as their eyes met. He was so gorgeous, and so close. It wouldn't take much to just lean forward and kiss him.

“Hold this.” Gray shoved the water bottle into her hands then bent forward.

Juvia’s world shifted sideways as he hefted her up onto his shoulder, and she let out a small shriek as he carried her into the living room. He dropped her onto the couch and smirked as she looked up at him from the heap she landed in. She pouted back at him.

He chuckled at her and ruffled her hair. “Drink your water, I’ll be right back.” Before Juvia could protest he turned and trotted out of the room.

Juvia sipped on her water and waited, sulking over the ruined moment, and him manhandling her. His feet slapped against the stairs, and she caught the creak of a door opening. She frowned, wondering what he was up to.

Her answer came when he returned with a large blanket and an arm full of pillows.

“Up. I’m making your bed,” Gray said.

Juvia hurried up and perched on the coffee table as Gray dropped everything onto the couch.

He shifted the pillows up to one end and draped the blanket across the cushions, then up the back of the couch tucking it into the creases. He turned to her and grinned proudly. “Give it a try.”

Juvia crawled across the space between the coffee table and couch. She fluffed the pillows up, then laid down, snuggling into them.

As she did, Gray reached out and pulled the upper half of the comforter down over top of her, and tucked it around her feet. “Better?”

“Mhmm,” Juvia smiled, warmth washing over her that had just as much to do with Gray being doting as it did with the down comforter. “Definitely better than the dorm mattress now.”

He smiled back at her, and settled back onto the coffee table, planting his hands behind him and leaning back. “You know, you could just buy your own mattress.”

“No money.”

“Right.” Gray winced. “Then you should drop a couple hints to my dad over breakfast. Now that Lyon’s back in the fold, I’m sure they’ll be visiting soon. He’d probably drag you out to get a new one.”

Juvia bit her lip, and shook her head. “That’s really not necessary, he’s already got the two of you to pay for anyways.”

“Yeah, but he likes you, and the gallery’s making good money. ‘Sides they owe you something for looking after Lyon all this time.”

Juvia nodded and averted her gaze and fiddled with the edge of the comforter. “Do you think you’ll come down with them?”

Gray scoffed. “I doubt I’ll be able too. It’s hockey season and between that and school my life’s pretty much spoken for until summer.”

“Right.” Juvia tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, but the guilty expression that mapped itself across Gray’s face said she hadn’t done a very good job.

He sighed and scratched at the back of his neck. “But you know, Spring Break will be here soon enough, and I’m sure Lyon’ll drag you back up for that. And once summer hits I’ll have a ton of free time, so I can make the trip down. Stay for a few weeks, let you guys show me around." He flashed her a smile. "Gotta check out all of those Hargeon clubs you two keep talking about.”

Juvia perked up. “Really?”

“Definitely. Though you’ll need to get some AC, no way in hell I’m putting up with those temperatures. I’ll melt.”

Juvia blinked. Had he just implied he’d be staying with her?

Gray’s eyes widened and his cheeks turned bright red. “Uh, that is, by you I mean, you know, Lyon. Or that I'd get a hotel room with AC. Not that you’d need to get one. I mean, I’m not suggesting you need to put me up-“

“You can stay with me,” Juvia said, heart hammering against her chest. “My roommate’ll be gone, and chances are Mered will be down for the summer so Lyon’s room will be occupied. But hotels are expensive, and I’d have the space, and I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“Right,” Gray licked his lips, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Sure. We can talk more about it as we get closer.”

Juvia frowned, feeling the distance open up between them like a fissure in the ground.

“Anyways, I should let you get some sleep.” Gray rose from the table, and headed for the stairs.

Juvia wanted to call out after him, to demand an answer or ask what she did wrong, but the words lodged in her throat.

Gray paused at the entrance to the room, but kept his back to her. “Night Juvia.”

And with that he was gone.

* * *

The creek of the stairs roused Juvia from her restless sleep. Her eyes fluttered open in time to catch sight of Silver’s back as he crept into the den.

Grey light filtered in from the windows and Juvia pushed herself up and frowned.

The clock on the TV stand read 5:34, confirming that it was too early to be up, even for Silver.

She sighed and sat up, stretching the kinks out of her back. It wasn’t a bad couch, but she’d been restless all night. Overtired and stuck in a loop of thought as she tried to decipher Gray’s behaviour. Juvia rose from the couch, blankets falling away, and shivered when the brisk air hit her skin. Goosebumps rose on her skin as she padded across the cold wooden floor towards the den.

Silver hunched over in front of the fireplace, trying to maneuver the stockings to make room for the one that rested at his feet. It wouldn't have been much of an issue, but they were all full to the brim and he was trying not to make a sound.

Juvia frowned, and her heart skipped a beat. There was no reason for him to hang another stocking, everyone in the family already had one.

“Do you need a hand?” Juvia asked, as she approached.

Silver jolted upright. A couple of gifts threatened to tumbled from the stocking he'd been holding, and he jerked it upright to save them. He clutched his heart with his free hand and glanced over his shoulder at her.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me,” he breathed. “Uh-“ His eyes darted down to the stocking then back to her, and he tried to shift it out of sight.

It was too little too late. Juvia froze, eyes wide and heart hammering, as she caught sight of her name, stitched into the top of the stocking. "Is that-"

"Nothing you should be seeing."

"It has my name on it," Juvia whispered, and took a shaky step forward. The sight of it was surreal, and Juvia was certain this was some kind of cruel dream.

Silver studied her face, then his lips twitched into a small smile. He sighed and held the stocking out towards her. "It was supposed to be a surprise.

Juvia reached out and grasped it. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as her fingers wrapped around the soft felt. She took it from him cradling it along her arm. Her fingers traced the stitching and embroidery. It looked hand made. "It's beautiful."

"Ur made it. She's been working on it non stop since you got here. Kind of a family tradition,” Silver said.

Juvia frowned. “But she-"

"She loves you. Just as much as the rest of them," Silver said. He closed the distance between them and wrapped her up in his arms. "I told you, no one's abandoning you."

Juvia choked back a sob and clung to Silver as tears streaked down her cheeks. Her fingers tightened around Silver's shirt gripping the fabric as she clung to him, and leaned into his embrace. Her heart ached and she felt like her legs were about to give out.

Silver tightened his hold on her. One hand stroked her hair and he murmured gentle words, trying to sooth her. The exact words were drowned out as Juvia broke into loud retching sobs.

It hurt. It hurt and she had no idea why. It should have been a happy thing. She should have felt relief, knowing that they still cared for her, and wanted her around. after everything that had happened. It should have made her happy, and yet it felt like someone was crushing her heart in their hand, and she couldn’t stop crying.

“Hush now,” Silver said, as her sobs started to abate. “Shh. You didn’t think we were so heartless that we wouldn’t get you gifts, did you?”

His voice was teasing, but it broke her heart all over again, and her sobs picked up their cadence?.

It wasn’t that she thought they were heartless, far from it, but she hadn’t expected anything. Maybe a gift or two, but she was a last minute addition, and not a member of their family. They’d had the gallery to look after, and their Christmas party to plan and she couldn’t even fathom when they had the time to go out and do last minute shopping for her, let alone make her a stocking. And all this time she’d been lying to them, and throwing their shortcomings in their faces.

It was too much.

“I don’t deserve this,” she choked out.

Silver tensed at her words and frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous, of course you do.”

“No I don’t. I’ve lied to you, and I’ve hurt you, and I said horrible things to you and accused you-“

“Juvia, look at me,” Silver commanded.

Juvia swallowed and nuzzled into his chest, not wanting to move. He didn’t pressure her to, but she could feel him waiting for her to comply. She lifted her head and met his gaze.

“None of that, absolutely none of that, makes you less worthy of a place in this family.”

“But-“

“No buts,” Silver said, cutting off her protests. “We have all made mistakes, we have all said or done horrible things at one point or another. We love each other anyways, because that’s what family is about. It’s about support and forgiveness and love. We love you sweetheart. There isn’t much that’ll change that.”

Juvia’s heart clenched. She wanted to believe it, but her mind riled against her, protesting that this was just another disappointment waiting to happen. That no one loved her. No one was gonna stick around forever. “But why?

“Because you’re not a bad kid, and you need some love,” Silver said, as though love were that simple and could be summoned out of need. “Why do you love Lyon?”

Juvia opened her mouth to answer, but frowned when she realize she didn’t have one. She knew that she loved Lyon, but the why of it wasn’t something she’d considered, she couldn’t even pinpoint when it happened. All she knew was that from the moment she met him she wanted to protect him. Then he started to open up to her, and trust her in ways he’d never trusted anyone else, and somewhere along the way it just happened.

“Not so easy to answer is it?” Silver asked

Juvia shook her head and sighed. Her tears had subsided at some point, and the ache in her heart had eased into a dull throb. Exhaustion swept over her, and she leaned into Silver’s hold. Her head rested against his shoulder and her eyes fluttered closed. If she stood there long enough she wondered if she’d finally pass out.

“Go back to bed sweetie. It’s too early, even for you. Besides, Santa can’t bring you your presents while you’re still awake.”

Juvia’s grip tightened and she pressed her face into his shoulder. He radiated warmth and she knew the absence of it would be yet another thing to keep her awake. “Can’t sleep,” she murmured against his chest.

Silver frowned down at her. “And why not? You’re not still worried about Ur, are you?”

“No,” Juvia said and shook her head.

“Gray then?”

Juvia stiffened and jerked her head back to look up at him. “How did you-“

“Please, I’m hardly stupid,” Silver said, sounding rather affronted. “I may have been defending the two of you from Ur, but that doesn’t mean I’ve missed the way you two keep looking at each other.”

Juvia blushed and averted her gaze. Had she really been that obvious?

“Come on, let’s go make you a cup of tea, and see if I can’t sort out whatever mess you two have gotten yourselves into,” Silver said and ushered her towards the kitchen.

Juvia allowed him to guide her, while she debated whether or not it was a good idea to even talk to Silver about this. Gray was his son, so was likely to be a least a little bias. Also he seemed to be under the same impression she had been, the one where Gray was interested, which she was starting to think, might be a false assumption on everyone’s part.

She climbed onto one of the stools as Silver strode towards the counter. She sat in silence, contemplating what to say as she listened to the rush of water, and then the click of the kettle being turned on.

Silver turned back towards her and leaned back against the counter, arms folded across his chest. “So, why are you losing sleep over my kid?”

Juvia bit her lower lip and let her fingers trace random patterns over the marble. “I don’t know. It’s… complicated I guess?”

“Complicated?” Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It's, well- One minute he’s flirting, or being sweet, and just as I think things are getting-“ Juvia waved her hand as she struggled to find a word that fit. Her fingers curled in frustration “somewhere, he pulls away.”

“So he’s freezing you out?”

Juvia sighed and rest her chin on her upturned palm. “Sort of? I mean, not all the time, just when things seem to be going somewhere between us.”

“Things?” Silver’s lips curled into a devilish smile.

“Like kissing,” Juvia said, hastily waving her hands in front of her face. Heat burned across her cheeks and she knew she’d gone beet red.

Silver gave her a knowing look. “Uh huh.”

“Just kissing,” she insisted. “I swear.”

Her heart hammered and she averted her gaze. This must have been where Lyon got his habit of teasing from.

“You’ll forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe,” Silver said.

The kettle clicked. He turned and fished a mug out of the cupboard, then grabbed a tea bag from the jar on the counter. He dropped it into the cup.

Steam billowed up from the kettle as he poured the water. Juvia watched and her cheeks cooled now that his gaze was no longer fixed on her. Her lips tipped downwards, as she thought about how he’d practically run from her last night. Her heart squeezed. What was she doing wrong?

The mug clinked as Silver set it down in front of her. His brow furrowed as he took in her slumped shoulders and sad eyes. “Or not. He really hasn’t made a move?”

“Really.”

“Well,” Silver said, settling onto the stool beside her. “Maybe he’s trying not to upset Ur.”

Juvia hummed, and wrapped her hands around the mug, letting the heat seep through the ceramic and sting her skin. “That’s what Lyon said.”

“But you don’t think so?”

Juvia shrugged and hunched forward. She blew at the tea, watching as the steam dissipated then rose again. She raised her gaze to look up at him. “Dunno. If that was the case, why not just tell me? It’s like he’s afraid to be alone with me.”

Silver snorted, and Juvia frowned at him. She had no idea what he could possibly think was funny about this.

“Sorry sweetie, I shouldn’t laugh, but it’s a very Gray thing to do.” Silver smothered another chuckle behind his hand, and shook his head. “Boy’s got zero emotional intelligence. He assumes everyone around him comes to the same conclusions he does, and he never stops to consider that he might need to explain himself. You should just tell him how you feel.”

Juvia tried not to let her frustration show. She wasn’t the one who was acting weird, and it frustrated her that she needed to put herself out even further than she already had to get an explanation from him. She was the one who’d kissed him, she was the one who put it all out there and admitted that she wanted to kiss him back on Wednesday. Gray knew where she stood. She shouldn’t need to ask.

Silver sighed and his hand landed over top of hers. “You can also give it some time. Ur’s settling down, and I’m sure in a day or two he’ll realize the storm has passed. Once he knows it’s safe I’m sure he’ll be all over you.”

Juvia blushed at the mental image and muttered “I don’t know about all over me.”

Silver scoffed. “I know my kid. But either way, he already cares about you. Gray would never spend the night sleeping on that couch when he could sleep in his own bed.” Silver fixed her with a meaningful look. “He’s also never been the cuddling type, or the listening type.”

Juvia bit her lip as it tried to twitch into a smile. “So I’ve been told.”

“It means you’re special to him.”

Juvia’s heart lurched, and she stared at Silver, wide-eyed. Her heart thundered against her chest as she took a sip of her tea.

“Which is good, ‘cause I was looking forward to having you as a daughter-in-law.”

Juvia’s throat and nose burned as she choked on her tea. She sputtered and coughed, trying to clear her throat, and her eyes watered as she did. Liquid dripped from her nose and she hastily wiped it away with the napkin Silver handed to her, before continuing to cough.

She sucked in a breath and managed to croak. “You were?”

“Of course!” Silver said and patted her on the back.

She finally managed to stop choking. She wanted to take another sip of her tea, but she held off, worried Silver would say something else.

“I mean, initially I figured you’d marry Lyon, but then I saw you and Gray sleeping on the couch and well…. I’m glad he’s gay. Makes me feel less guilty for rooting for Gray,” Silver confessed.

“You were rooting for him?” Juvia asked. “Even though I was with Lyon?”

“He’s my son,” Silver said, shooting her a guilty look. “I mean, I know Lyon is too, but…. I just want Gray to be happy.”

Juvia stared down at her tea, deep in thought. Her finger traced the handle on the mug. “Me too.”

* * *

Lyon sipped his coffee, a small smile playing on his lips, as he stacked the gifts from his stocking into a pile, and hummed along to the Christmas carols. He’d gotten a good haul this year.

Juvia sat on the floor below him. Her shoulder brushed against his dangling leg, where she was propped against the couch. Her tea sat, untouched, on the coffee table, and her gifts had all been step aside. Her new stocking was in her hand and her fingers traced the the embroidery.

Lyon had to admit, it was pretty. He glanced sideways at Ur and caught her eye, sending her a small smile.

She smiled back and puffed up a little with pride. Apparently, they’d had a moment together this morning that involved a very tearful Juvia, and a few hugs. Neither had gone into details, but they’d been civil and talking so far, so he took it as a good sign, even if he still felt a bit protective of Juvia.

A loud smack, drew everyone’s attention to Silver, who was seated on the chair by the window, to the left of the tree. “Alright, enough lollygagging, time for presents!”

Silver grinned down at Gray, who was sitting by the tree, covered in mounds of wrapping paper and gifts. A Santa hat hung from his head.

“Start handing ‘em out kid,” Silver said.

Gray rolled his eyes, but the wide grin on his face gave him away as he started fishing presents out from under the tree.

Once it had been Lyon’s job, but, during high school, Ur’d insisted they share the position. He’d resented Gray for it at the time, but when Gray’d asked him if he wanted to hand out presents today Lyon declined. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Gray had taken over a lot in the last few years, and it felt unfair to take it all back after having abandoned it.

That, and perhaps he’d felt a little guilty for fighting so hard not to share the position as a kid.

“Come on, hurry it up Gray,” Ultear jeered, grinning down at him from where she reclined on the far end of the couch.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep your pants on,” Gray said, as he handed the first gift to her. “That one’s for mom.”

Ultear snorted. “You should take your own advice.”

Gray’s expression soured, as Silver and Lyon erupted into laughter. Juvia muffled her giggles behind her hand, and Ultear flashed Gray a wicked grin, clearly pleased with herself.

“Very funny,” Gray said, and sneered back at Ultear. “Do you want your presents or not?”

It wasn’t much of a threat, but it was enough to get everyone to try and reign in their laughter, as Gray reached under the tree to haul out another present and pass it off.

Juvia glanced up at Lyon as he handed her her first present. “Do I open this now, or?”

“Nah, we usually wait until all the presents are divvied out, then open them all together. Takes less time,” Lyon explained.

Juvia, nodded and placed the present down in front of her, and stacked the next one on top of it when Lyon handed it to her.

Lyon stacked his own presents on the side table behind him, then smirked as Ur handed him the small gift bag that contained his gift to Juvia. Instead of handing it to her he reached out and set it on the coffee table next to her tea. “You gotta save that one for the end.”

She quirked her head to the side and frowned. “Why?”

Lyon smirked. “Cause I want to see your face when you open it.”

She eyed him suspiciously, but didn’t protest.

A few more presents were past their way, before the tree was empty.

“This is the last one,” Gray announced as he shifted out from under the tree, holding the last present. He glanced down at the tag. “To Mom, from Ultear. Course you’d be the one to stick it all the way under the back of the tree.”

“Just trying to make it look more full,” Ultear replied.

“Sure,” Gray muttered and crawled forward to pass the gift straight to Ur.

“Alright, let’s open these babies,” Silver cheered, plucking the smallest item from his pile. He smiled as his fiddled with it. “Feels like a book to me.” He glanced over at Juvia and flashed her a blinding smile.

Juvia smiled back, and she fidgeted with the wrapping paper on the gift in her hand as she watched him unwrap the gift.

“Haha! I was right,” Silver crowed, holding the book aloft. “A cook book!”

“Not just any cookbook,” Lyon said, as he nudged Juvia with his knee.

Her cheeks flushed, as Silver cocked his head at her. She averted her gaze, but a small smile played on her lips. “It’s the same version of cookbook my adopted father used to teach me, he gave it to me when he sent me back. It’s where I got the chili recipe from.”

Silver gaped at her. He glanced down at the book and gingerly ran his hand over the cover. When he glanced back up at her his eyes were glazed over. “That’s a beautiful thing to get me sweetheart. Come on, get over here! I demand a hug for that.”

Juvia blushed but did as she was bid, climbing up and over the gifts and piles of paper for the hug.

Gray smiled at them fondly, a look of pride on his face, and Ur was watching them as well. Her hand caught Juvia’s as Juvia returned to her gifts. Juvia stopped, and stared down at Ur like a deer caught in headlights.

“That was very sweet of you,” Ur said.

Juvia blushed and bit her lip. Her eyes darted back to Silver, who was already tearing open Gray’s gift. “He reminds me of him. The good parts.”

Ur squeezed her hand, and smiled at Juvia. “Good.”

Juvia sat back down, wiping the tears from her eyes as she did.

Lyon reached down and gave her shoulder a squeeze and Juvia glanced up at him and placed her hand over his. He could read the thank you in her eyes, even though she didn’t say it out loud. “Open your presents, we’re falling behind.”

Juvia giggled, and carefully began to peel off the wrapping paper.

“Just rip it off,” Lyon said exasperatedly.

“No.” Juvia glowered at him. “I wanna save the paper.”

Lyon rolled his eyes at her and tore a large strip from his own gift. His eyes lit up and a grin split across his face as he stared down at the cover of Phantom of the Opera’s dvd case. “Tear have I told you I love you lately?”

“Mmm, probably, but I can’t remember, so feel free to remind me,” Ultear said.

“I love you, very much,” Lyon said as he tore the rest of the paper off and tossed it at Juvia, to annoy her.

Ultear smirked, and held up the book he'd picked out for her. “Love you too, and Juvia since I'm sure this is her doing.”

“Totally not,” Lyon said. “I picked it out myself.”

Gray scoffed. “I thought Chelia picked it out for you.”

Lyon puffed out his cheeks and glowered at Gray. “Nobody asked you.”

“Just trying to keep you honest,” Gray replied with a smirk.

Ultear laughed at Lyon. “Sounds like quite the team effort. I'm touched.”

“Yeah, well, it was that or a cheap bottle of wine, so stop giving me such a hard time about it.” Lyon crossed his arms over his chest dramatically and put on his best pout.

“You're such a drama queen,” Ultear teased.

Lyon shot her a haughty look. “Absolutely, and queens demand respect.” He snapped his fingers at her.

“Forgive us queen Lyon, for questioning your royal authority,” Juvia said her voice twisted into a horrible attempt at an English accent. She leaned back and stared up at him with a playful grin. “But if it would please your grace, you should return to opening your many offerings for you are holding up the process.”

Lyon snorted and nudged her with his leg, as the rest of the room erupted in laughter.

“You tell him girl,” Ultear jeered.

“Yeah, yeah, focus on your own pile ya saucy little brat.”

Juvia stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her gifts, and Lyon reached for the next on in his pile.

The rest of the gifts were open without too much preamble. Thank yous and you’re welcomes were exchanged, along with the general fanfare of excitement over items. It wasn’t until Juvia reached for his gift atop the coffee table, that Lyon found himself getting excited.

She fished out the card and carefully started to pry open the envelope.

He set his gifts aside and leaned over her shoulder. “Remember, when I bought that you were supposed to be my girlfriend.”

Juvia frowned and cocked her head at him, and he flashed he a wicked grin. She eyed him warily and set aside the card instead of opening it, and dug through the tissue paper to pull out a small wrapped box that fit in the palm of her hand and paled.

“You didn’t.” She turned to him in wide-eyed panic. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

Lyon shrugged. “Open it.”

Juvia did. Her hands shook as she peeled off the wrapping paper, revealing a small velvet case. She glanced up at him with furrowed brows and questioning eyes. He nodded encouragingly, and fought back his smile. He knew what she was expecting.

He glanced around the room and realized all eyes were on them. The tension in the air was palpable as they waited for Juvia to open the box.

She continued to stare at it, and made no move to open it, so Lyon reached out and plucked it from her hand. He turned it to face her and pried the lid up to reveal the small sapphire earrings he’d bought her.

“You-“ Juvia glared at him and swatted his arm. “You’re such an asshole.”

Lyon burst out laughing. “You don’t like them then?”

“Them?” Ur asked, peering over his shoulder to catch a glimpse at the gift.

Ultear lunged forward and snatched the box from his hand. “Oh thank god, it’s earrings.”

There was a collective sigh of relief, and Silver laughed and clapped his hand on his knee.

Ur glared at Silver. “That wasn’t funny. I nearly had heart failure, I thought he was intending a fake proposal.”

“I thought about it.” Lyon flashed her a wicked grin.

Juvia smacked on the arm again and this time he flinched and rubbed the spot. He turned and pouted at her. “Oh come on, if you saw the look on your faces you would have found it funny too.”

“Not likely,” Juvia scoffed.

“I don’t find it particularly funny either,” Ur scolded.

“It’s a little funny,” Ultear said, and she handed Juvia back the box.

Juvia took it and frowned down at the earrings. She sighed and met Lyon’s gaze. “They’re beautiful, but I can’t accept these.” She shut the box and held it out to him.

Lyon pushed her hand back. “Yes you can.”

“Lyon-“

“Don’t start. They weren’t that expensive, and I’ve dragged you through a ton of shit this week and you never abandoned me. It’s the least I can do.”

Juvia’s shoulders sagged, and she gave him a forlorn look. “But-“

“No buts!” Lyon shook his head at her. “Can you just say thank you and hug me?”

Juvia blushed and averted her gaze. She bit her lower lip and muttered, “Thank you.”

Lyon smiled and held his arms out for her.

She hesitated, but eventually rose onto her knees and leaned in for a hug.

When she pulled away Gray was standing next to them. He shuffled around and scratched the back of his neck, before thrusting a envelope at Lyon.

Lyon stared at it, then glanced up at Gray in confusion. “What’s this?”

“It’s your gift, what else would it be?” Gray said with a frown.

“But we don’t exchange gifts,” Lyon said.

His heart hammered in his chest and he continued to frown at the envelope. There was a certain level of mistrust towards the gift, but guilt tugged at his heart as well. He hadn’t gotten Gray anything.

“Yeah, well, it was kinda pointed out that maybe we should start.” Gray’s eyes darted down to Juvia then then away. His cheeks reddened. “And that if I want things to change between us, I’m gonna have to be sincere about that and do nice things without actually expecting anything for it.”

Lyon reached for the envelope tentatively, and took it from Gray. His mind whispered warnings, that this was some sort of prank and not to get his hopes up, but his heart hammered excitedly against his chest none the less. He carefully ripped along the top of the envelope and pulled four tickets from it.

Chicago was printed in bold letters at the top, and Lyon’s heart halted. He scanned the rest of the ticket with his heart lodged in his throat, then looked up at Gray in shock. “How did you-“

“Mered got ‘em for me,” Gray said and shrugged. “They’re supposed to be pretty good seats.”

“They’re amazing seats,” Lyon replied breathlessly.

“Good, they’re for March Break, and I grabbed four, since I figured you might bring Juvia with you, and you’d want to take Mered too. You can take whoever you want as your fourth,” Gray rambled.

Lyon nodded and stared back at the tickets. This was by far the nicest thing Gray had ever done for him. It felt like acceptance, or an apology for all the years of giving Lyon a hard time about being in drama clubs and theatre. “I know it’s not really your thing, but if you wanted-“

“Really?” Gray looked down at him hopefully.

“Yeah, for sure.” Lyon said. A smile tugged at his lips. “And thanks.”

Gray’s lips twitched up into a smile as well. “You’re welcome.”

* * *

Juvia yawned and rubbed her eyes, as the credits on screen started to blur. She was forced to sit up as Lyon shifted beneath her, stretching his arms and arching his back.

“Okay, I need to head to bed. Unlike the two of you, I have no intention of looking like a haggard troll tomorrow due to lack of sleep,” Lyon said. He nudged Juvia, pushing her to shift forward so he could sit up from where they’d been cuddling on the couch.

Gray rolled his eyes and twisted himself so that he could face them from the love seat. “Pretty sure you wind up looking like one anyways; otherwise you wouldn’t need to spend over an hour hogging the bathroom every morning.”

“Beauty is an art form that can’t be rushed,” Lyon sneered. “You’re just hating because you couldn’t look this good if you had a whole day to try.”

“Oh yeah, that must be it,” Gray said.

“Seriously, you’d need half a bottle of concealer to hide those bags you’ve got under your eyes.”

Gray’s mouth twisted into a thin line and his nose scrunched up in disdain.

Juvia hid her giggles behind her hand, finding the expression kind of adorable. She didn’t dare admit Lyon was right. Not when she knew her own eyes looked like they belonged to a raccoon.

“You know,” Lyon said, using his haughty, I know better than you, tone of voice, “If you started putting some Vaseline under your eyes and actually aimed to get more than six hours sleep a night, you could clear them up pretty quick.”

“Sounds like a lotta work,” Gray said.

Lyon sighed and waved his hand dismissively as he headed for the stairs. “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you when your youth finally gives out and you end up an ugly saggy eyed old man.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Gray said.

Lyon stopped in the door and turned to Juvia. “Try not to let him keep you up all night.”

“No promises,” Juvia shot back with a smile.

“Hopeless, both of you,” Lyon lamented with a shake of his head.

“Good night Lyon,” Juvia sing songed.

He rolled his eyes at her and turned to the stairs, raising his hand in acknowledgement. “Night you two.”

“See you in the morning,” Gray called out, as he leaned forward precariously to snatch the remote from the coffee table. He grabbed a hold of the edge, using it to prop himself up. He had to push off against it once he had the remote to avoid face planting into the floor.

Juvia watched him in silence, enjoying the way the light played off his muscles. His eyes caught hers, but she was too tired to care about being caught staring.

Gray blushed and averted his gaze. “Uh, so….” His fingers drummed against the couch.

“Another movie?” Juvia offered. Tired as she was, this was the first time she’d been alone with Gray since Saturday and she didn’t know if she could handle him running off on her again.

Gray kept his gaze averted, and he scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know-“

“Oh, come on,” Juvia groused, exasperation getting the better of her. She took a breath to reel in her frustration, and tried to keep her tone light and teasing. “One more movie isn’t gonna kill you right? Or are you worried about what Lyon said?”

“Pfft, that’s hardly something I’ve ever had to worry about, but I do have hockey practice tomorrow,” Gray said.

Juvia frowned and bit down on her agitation. Her hand gripped the couch cushion, and her nails bit into the fabric. Of course he had hockey tomorrow, yet another excuse to avoid having to be alone with her.

“Right,” she bit out, and turned her back to him and flopped back down onto the couch. “Well night then.”

Gray sighed. “I didn’t say I was going to bed, just pointing out I need to be up early and so another movie’s not the best idea.”

A flicker of hope sparked in Juvia’s chest. She glanced back over her shoulder at him. “You thinking a show then?”

“Actually, I was wondering if we could talk,” Gray said.

“Talk?” Juvia perked up, turning to face him. Maybe Silver had been right and all he needed was a bit of time.

“Uh, yeah,” Gray said, eyeing her nervously. “I mean, we’ve talked a lot about things already, but you also kinda lied about a lot.” Juvia’s smile faltered with his words. “I thought that this would be a good chance to clarify things, you know? Get to know you and all that.”

“Oh.” Juvia couldn’t deny her disappointment, but she told herself that him wanting to get to know her was a good sign. Maybe he needed to clear up some things that were confusing him, and then they'd talk for real.

“We don’t have to if you don’t-“

“I don’t mind,” Juvia cut him off in a rush, not wanting to lose her window of opportunity. “It’ll be good, to clarify things.”

“Right,” Gray licked his lips. “Good.”

Silence fell between them as they stared at each other awkwardly.

“So…” Juvia prompted.

“So?”

“What do you want clarification on?” she asked.

Gray’s brows furrowed in thought, clearly not having expected the question. “Well, everything, I guess.”

“I thought you had to get up for hockey? I’m gonna need a little more direction than that if you plan to sleep tonight.”

Gray laughed, rich and bold and full, and the sound warmed her insides and turned them to jelly, and then he smiled at her and she was pretty sure her heart stopped entirely. “Okay, fair enough. Well, then start at the beginning. Where were you born?”

Juvia answered, and her insides fluttered as he fired off another question, smile still plastered on his lips. She was pretty sure they weren’t going to bed any time soon, but it was okay. The lack of sleep would be worth it if she could spend the rest of her nights talking to him like this.


	25. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Much anticipated chapter filled with dating, flirting, and talks. Lots of talks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sorry this is late, but the good news is I'm kicking Nanowrimo's butt and have written chapter 26 and part of chapter 27's first drafts and intend to have all the remaining chapters written by the end of November. So wish me luck.

Nerves fluttered in Lyon’s stomach, as he tugged at his bangs to the left. One look in the entryway mirror and he tugged them back right and tried to rearrange them to look better. He wished his stupid hair would cooperate.

“You’re gonna go bald if you keep doing that,” Gray said as he leaned against the door.

Lyon glared at him through the mirror. “Fuck you.”

“No thanks.”

Lyon blanched, and his stomach churned. He felt like might throw up. Of course, he’d been feeling like that since he woke up this morning, so it probably had nothing to do with Gray.

His phone buzzed against his hip and he pulled it out of his pocket.

_ Mered: Almost free from my hell shift! Ultear’s already on her way to get me. Can’t wait to see you. _

Another wave of nausea washed over Lyon. He should never have agreed to this. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, head down to Magnolia for karaoke, invite all their friends and come out to everyone all at once- get it over with. Of course, now that Mered wasn’t pressing heated kisses to his lips, he was thinking a lot clearer. It was a terrible plan.

He reached for his hair again.

“Would you stop?” Gray huffed. “It’s fine.”

“He’s just nervous, and you’re not helping,” Juvia called down to them, she stepped out of the upstairs bathroom, and eyed Gray for a moment before turning her attention to Lyon. “It’s gonna be fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Lyon muttered.

“No one’s going to care,” Gray said.

“How do you know?”

Juvia shook her head and bounded down the stairs, two at a time. She almost collided into Lyon as she launched herself off the last step, and threw her arms around him. “Stop worrying. You’ve gone out with Mered the last two days and no one’s bothered you guys. Tonight’s not gonna be any different.”

Lyon’s shoulders tightened and his stomach flip flopped. “It’s totally different.”

“How?” Gray scowled.

“Those were strangers.” Lyon’s hands flailed dramatically, and Juvia had to take a step back. “Tonight it’s every friend I have here, seeing me out with my boyfriend for the first time, when six days ago they were told I was dating Juvia. That’s definitely different!”

Juvia sighed and took his hand. “It is, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna go badly. They’re your friends, and you already know Lucy and Levy are okay with gay people. And Gajeel already knows.”

“If it helps, Erza knows too,” Gray said.

Lyon’s heart stopped. He gaped at Gray and wailed, ‘How does Erza know?”

Gray winced and averted his gaze. “Well…” He shot Lyon a nervous glance, before looking away again and muttering, “I mighta let it slip last Thursday.”

“Let it slip? How the hell do you just let that slip? You’ve kept it secret for two years!”

“Fine. I told her! Happy?” Gray wrapped his arms around himself and glared at Lyon. Lyon glared back at him and mirrored Gray’s stance. He felt betrayed.

Gray sighed and carded a hand through his hair. “I didn’t do it on purpose, I was freaking out. I thought you were leading Juvia on, and I kissed her. The whole thing was a mess; I needed advice.” He slumped back against the door, looking miserable and guilt ridden. “I knew she wouldn’t care. I wouldn’t of told her if I thought she would.”

“That’s still not okay,” Juvia said, a scowl plastered on her face.

Gray swallowed hard and nodded. His face was taught and he looked about as sick as Lyon felt. He couldn’t believe Gray had outed him, especially after keeping it a secret from their parents all this time. It made his heart ache, and his mind screamed for him to lash out and close Gray off again. It was clear from the hurt and guarded way Gray was looking at him that that’s what Gray expected him to do.

Lyon forced himself to meet Gray’s gaze. “She’s the only one who knows?”

Gray frowned, but nodded slowly.

“And she really doesn’t care?”

Gray shrugged. “You saw her Saturday. She didn’t say anything or treat you differently right?”

Lyon didn’t have to think hard about it. He’d never have guessed she knew he was gay. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Gray and Juvia echoed in unison.

“Okay.” Lyon sighed and forced the tension from his shoulder and shrugged. “I believe you. I don’t like it, but I don’t think you did it out of malice, and I guess there’s no real harm done.”

“Really?” Gray stared at Lyon wide-eyed. “So we’re good?”

“Good enough.”

Gray grinned at him. “Thanks. It won’t happen again. Promise. And you’re over thinking tonight; no one cared when Cana came out, it’s not gonna be any different with you.”

“When Cana what?” Lyon squawked. He felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped down his back.

Juvia giggled and patted Lyon on the back. “I’m not sure how you missed it, but I’m pretty sure Cana’s bi.”

“Pansexual actually,” Gray said.

Lyon blinked owlishly, and he swore he could feel the world spinning. He wrapped an arm around Juvia and leaned against her for support. “Do you even know what that means?”

Gray shrugged. “She’ll fuck anyone so long as she likes ‘em”

It was close enough.

A car horn honked twice.

“That’ll be the cab,” Gray said, and hauled open the front door. Sure enough a green and orange taxi was parked out just past the front lawn.

Lyon’s feet felt like they were made of cement, and his head buzzed.

Juvia’s hand found his and she twined their fingers together. “You can do this. It’s gonna be okay.”

Gray took a step closer and clapped Lyon on the shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be fun. ‘Sides, we’ve got your back.”

Lyon glanced back and forth between them, then nodded. He took a deep breath and planted one foot in front of the other. He didn’t stop, and he didn’t look back. Instead he focused on his brother and his best friend.

Tonight was gonna be a good night.

* * *

Juvia bounded off the stage, high on the performance and applause still ringing in her ears. Lyon was right behind her, his hand resting on the small of her back as they wove through the crowd back to their group of tables.

“Oh my god!” Lucy screeched, grinning at the two of them. Her hands slammed down onto the tabletop in excitement. “That was incredible! I’ve got chills!”

Juvia blushed and smiled at Lucy, but her eyes scanned the surrounding tables, and replied dismissively. “It’s mostly Lyon.”

“It’s true, I can make anyone sound good.” Lyon slipped into the booth next to Mered, and nudged his shoulder. “We should go up next.”

“Not a chance in hell. I ain’t following that up.” Mered glowered at Lyon.

Lyon pouted. “But it’ll be fun, and you promised me you’d sing a duet with me.”

“That was before I heard you two sing together.”

Juvia bit her lip. Lyon's anxiety had been getting the better of her when she'd dragged him on stage. She’d wanted to calm his nerves, and her own with them, and it worked.

Only now it was backfiring.

“What’s that got to do with it?” Lyon's brow dipped in confusion.

“Uh, you two sound like you belong in a Broadway musical. I sound like a dying cat.”

“First off, of course I belong in a Broadway musical. Secondly, no one cares what you sound like." Lyon crinkled his nose in distaste. "They even cheered for Gajeel,”

Juvia swatted his arm. “He’s not that bad.” The whole table looked at her like she’d grown a second head. She huffed and let her gaze drift through the crowd, her eyes catching on over a dozen dark haired men. She couldn't get a good look at most of them in the dim lighting.

"Finally, I've got years of vocal training. I can just sing over you and drown you out so no one will hear how bad you are."

Mered scowled at Lyon, and shoved his side. "Go fuck yourself." He caught Juvia's eye as she continued to scour the crowd and pointed towards the bar. "He's over there."

Juvia whipped her head around. Sure enough, she spotted Gray. Cana was there with him and they seemed to be talking to a guy with orange hair. She vaguely remembered him from the party, but was drawing a blank on his name.

Juvia glanced back to Lyon, guilt tightening in her stomach. She had said she’d be there for him in case anything went down.

Lyon rolled his eyes back and her and shooed her with his hand. “Just go, we’re fine.”

Juvia took another darting glance in Gray’s direction, and pulled herself straighter. It was time to finally stop all this dancing around. She’d been patient, had given him time to adjust to things, had waited for his mom to cool down, and now it was time to go after what she wanted. What she hoped they both wanted.

She approached the group, taking long deliberate strides and adding a small swing to her hips. She tried to think sexy, and embody it.

Cana was the first to spot Juvia and waved her over enthusiastically. Gray turned in Juvia’s direction his brow furrowed, only to break out into a wide grin at the sight of her.

“Hey gorgeous, come to drink away your woes?” Cana tease as she slung an arm around Juvia pulling her into a tight half hug.

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at her. “My woes?”

“Looks like your singing partner traded you in for a younger model.” Cana gestured towards Lyon, who was trying to coax Mered up to the stage.

“Right.” Juvia let out a laugh. “Yes definitely here to drown my sorrows.”

“What’s your poison?” Gray asked, leaning in close to be heard over the singing. His hand settled on her lower back. Heat scorched through her body and and her knees felt weak.

“Vodka Cran.”

He nodded and waved down the bartender, who was in the middle of mixing drinks.

“Good choice,” the orange haired guy said. He leaned around Gray’s shoulder and offered her his hand. “I don't think we’ve been properly introduced-”

“For good reason.” Gray swatted the man’s hand away, but a smirk played on his lips.

The man’s eyes darted to Gray and he smiled wickedly before turning back to Juvia. His eyes danced with mirth. “You must be Juvia, I'm Loke. I'm afraid Gray's a bit of a caveman when it comes to these things.”

Juvia blinked in surprise. Did Gray mention her to Loke too?

“You sound like Lyon,” Gray sneered.

Cana burst into laughter. “He does, doesn't he?”

“Is that why you're trying to hide her from me?” Loke asked with a devilish grin.

“Nah, just trying to spare her from your crappy pick up lines.”

“Why?” Amusement danced in Cana's eyes. “I'm sure she'd tear him to pieces. It’d be great.”

Juvia caught sight of the bartender waiting for them and was about to order when Gray cut her off. “She’ll have a vodka cranberry, and I'll take another beer.”

“Keiths?” The bartender asked, glancing down at Gray’s glass. Gray nodded.

“And four tequila shots,” Loke added.

Juvia groaned as she fished through her purse for her wallet. “No. I'm not doing tequila shots tonight. No way.”

“Vodka then.”

“Fine,” Juvia huffed and hauled out her wallet.

Gray caught her hand before she could fish out any money. “I've got it.”

Juvia blinked up at him. She swore there was a light blush coating his cheeks. “But-” Her protest died on her lips as he stared down at her. A part of her wanted to insist she could pay for herself, but the way he was touching her and the look he was giving her made her wonder if maybe, this was his way of making this a date. She took a deep breath and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“Just put her drinks on my tab,” Gray told the bartender. “The tequila shots are on him though.” He jerked a thumb at Loke.

“Well look at you, pulling out the moves,” Cana said, elbowing Gray in the side.

He tensed, then jerked his hand away from the small of Juvia’s back as though he’d been burned. His voice was strained when he replied, “I’m not!’

Juvia bit back her disappointment. She liked him touching her, and she felt a little put out by the denial. Then again, Gray seemed like a private person so she'd need to get used to that. She shifted a little closer to Gray, and tried to think of a subtle way to say she didn’t mind if he was. She’d been waiting on him for days.

“Why not?” Loke asked in total disbelief. “You need to get laid, it’s been like… years.”

“Shut up," Gray said through gritted teeth. He carded a hand through his hair and shot Juvia a nervous look. “Any chance you could ignore him for the rest of the night?”

Juvia giggled and placed her hand on his bicep, hoping to re-engage contact between them, and also hoping that he’d pick up on the flirtation. “I was planning to anyways.”

Gray flashed her a grin.

“Ow, that’s savage." Despite the complaint, Loke was smiling as he said it.

“Alright, enough blabbering from you, we gonna do these shots or what?” Cana asked.

 

“Yes!” Loke said, reaching between Gray and Juvia to pluck one of the shots off the bar. Cana grabbed her own, but Gray grabbed the remaining two and handed Juvia hers. They raised their glasses and down the shots in one go. Juvia followed suit, letting the vodka shot burn down her throat. The others chased their shots with limes, but Juvia grabbed her drink and took a sip.

Cana gave her a light pat on the back. “You better keep this one Gray, she’s a woman after my own heart.”

Gray shifted uncomfortably, giving Cana a non-committal shrug. He grabbed his beer and downed a good portion of it. “So, you hosting New Year’s again this year?”

Juvia’s heart tugged. She wondered why he got so touchy when people suggested there was something romantic between them. He had no trouble flirting with her, and he’d been getting better about the distance he’d been keeping prior to Christmas, but she still felt like there was a part of him holding back, and she couldn’t figure out why. She kinda figured it would have been a done deal by now.

“Hell yeah! The old man is out for the night, so I’m going all out.” She nudged Juvia. “You better be there. Lyon and Mered too! I want a full house.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Juvia said. She hadn’t been planning on a wild night out but she liked Gray’s friends. They were a bit overwhelming, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit left out when they’d talk about growing up together, but she enjoyed their company.

Besides, if everything went well, she and Gray would finally be dating, so why not party it up on New Years.

* * *

“I can’t believe we’re leaving!” Lyon whined. He clung to Mered’s back as they stumbled down the street away from the bar’s door. “It’s not even ten, you should all be ashamed.”

Juvia shook her head and trudged out after them, tugging her coat tighter around her as the cold air hit her for the first time in hours.

“Yeah, well, some of us have work in the morning,” Ultear grumbled from Juvia’s side. Ultear had her arms wrapped tight around herself, and was darting glances up and down the street hunting for a large cab.

“Not me,” Mered chirped, and smirked over his shoulder.

Ultear glared at him. “Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.”

“You’re just getting old,” Lyon said, a smirk played on his lips. “Back in the day you’d be out all hours of the night, job or not.”

“That’s because I never cared about the jobs I had, it’s a little different now. If I don’t go to work, I don’t make money,” Ultear said.

“Excuses, excuses. Admit it, you’re old, and you’re out past your bedtime,” Mered teased.

“You little shit.” Ultear’s eyes narrowed as she lunged towards Mered.

Mered's eyes went wide with panic and he ducked behind Lyon. Ultear darted after him, and he spun around, keeping Lyon between them as Ultear tried to catch him.

Lyon stumbled between them and tried to protest being used as a shield, but it fell on deaf ears.

Juvia shivered, and burrowed deeper into her jacket, feeling colder now that Ultear wasn’t there to block the wind. She caught sight of a lit up taxi sign and started to flag it down, only to realize it was a car and wouldn't fit them all. Her nose wrinkled in frustration. They should have called one from the bar, at this rate they were going to freeze to death in the street.

“You cold?” Gray asked, as he sauntered up to them. He’d been helping Cana and Lucy get Natsu into their cab.

Juvia bit her lip. She didn’t want him to give her his jacket, since it was way too cold for him to be without one, but it wasn’t like she could hide it either. She nodded.

Gray studied her for a moment before stepping right up beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest, holding her there and turning her away from the wind so he’d shield her from most of it.

Juvia’s heart raced and she could feel her cheeks going red.

“Hey look, Gray’s being a gentleman!” Mered shouted, pointing at the two of them. Lyon and Ultear came to a halt, the three of them a tangle of limbs from their game of cat and mouse. Identical smirks formed, as they gawked at the pair of them.

Gray’s whole body tensed against her back and his arms stiffened. He let out a loud frustrated growl before replying. “Just making sure she doesn’t freeze to death since you three are more interested in play tag, instead of getting us a cab.”

Juvia’s heart dropped a bit, and she sunk back against him.

“Nice, very romantic,” Lyon deadpanned.

Gray shifted behind her and huffed feathering the hair against Juvia's neck. “Whatever.” He readjusted his grip, but he didn’t let go of her, and Juvia decided that was a good sign.

“We should just call a cab” Mered suggested. “It’ll take forever to find a van at this time of night.”

“Good idea.” Ultear fished out her phone and started punching in numbers.

Lyon pouted and draped himself over Mered’s shoulder. “Not a good idea. The sooner we find a cab, the sooner the night's over and I have to say goodbye to you.”

Mered rolled his eyes. “You’ll see me again tomorrow, now get off. Stop using me to lean on.”

“But, I want to see you more now!”

“Why don’t you come home with us?” Juvia asked, “You don’t have to work in the morning, you could spend the night. Lyon’s bed is free, and we can watch movies together.”

Mered’s eyes went wide, and Lyon’s lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Yes! Brilliant idea!” Lyon wrapped his arms tighter around Mered’s shoulder, and hung off him. “Please come home with me. Please, please, please.”

Mered struggled under Lyon’s hold and glared up at him in frustration. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you get offa me.”

Lyon shot off Mered, freeing him from Lyon's death grip. “I'm off!” He held his hands high in the air as proof, but he still hovered ridiculously close to Mered. He pouted and batted his eyes at Mered. “Now will you grace me with your presence for the night?”

Mered shifted again and bit his lower lip.

Juvia frowned, unsure why he seemed so hesitant, and Lyon's smile fell a bit.

Mered was about to say something when Ultear turned back to the group. “Cab’s on its way, and you should totally come. It’ll be your first double date.” She elbowed him and smirked at Gray and Juvia.

“We’re not dating.” Gray was stiff as a board and when Juvia glanced up at him he was scowling at Ultear.

Juvia felt a pang of rejection shoot through her heart. She knew they weren't dating yet, but she’d hoped that would change. She caught the sympathetic glances Mered and Ultear were shooting her.

All at once Gray's arms felt constricting. “Right.” Juvia pushed his arms off of her and pulled away from him

“Juvia?” Gray frowned “I thought you were cold.”

“I'm fine.” She’d meant to sound relaxed, but anyone could hear the strain in her voice.

Gray stepped towards her and reached his hand out to touch her. “Hey, what's up?”

“Nothing,” she snapped and flinched away from him. “Nothing is up, you made that perfectly clear.”

“What? Seriously? All I said was we aren't dating; which is true. Why are you getting so pissed off?” Gray threw his hands up in frustration as he glared back at her.

Juvia gaped at him, as a torrent of emotions flooded her mind. She had no idea how to answer that. Did he really not get it? “You're kidding right?”

“Say yes, it might still save your ass,” Mered said.

“No.” Gray scowled at Juvia.

“Wrong answer.” Mered muttered and eyed Gray like he was a dead man.

“So you don't have feelings for me? That kiss meant nothing to you?” Juvia was bordering on hysterical, and several people were staring at them.

“I didn't say that.” Gray ran a hand through his hair and glanced about nervously. “Can you calm down? We’ll talk about this later.”

“When later? It's been five days! I've been waiting, I'm tired of it.”

Gray clenched his jaw and his hands balled into fists at his sides. He gaze darted up and down the street and the various people stopping to look at them. He grit his teeth. “When we aren't in public.”

“No that's-”

“Juvia enough,” Lyon said, catching her by the elbow and pulled her towards him. “You're overreacting and blowing this way out of proportion.”

Juvia’s eyes narrowed and betrayal lanced through her heart. She wrenched herself free from Lyon's grip and spun on him. Lyon locked eyes with her and took a step back, bumping into Mered.

“Dumb thing to say dude,” Mered said, glancing nervously between the two of them.

“Foot in mouth syndrome, both of them,” Ultear muttered. She stepped forward as their cab pulled up to the curb and wrapped an arm around Juvia. “Just breathe. Remember, they're dumb boys.”

Juvia nodded, even though she didn't agree with the sentiment. Gray and Lyon weren't dumb, bad with words sure but not dumb. And the fact that Lyon was actually siding with Gray over her was a slight that cut her deeper than she had words for.

She climbed into the cab and settled in the front set of seats. Ultear sat beside her and Gray and Lyon were forced to sit in the back with Mered.

As the cab pulled away from the curb Juvia turned and stared out the window and wished she had somewhere else to go tonight.

* * *

The tension in the cab was impossible to ignore, no matter how hard Lyon tried. Juvia hadn't said a word to anyone, and was busy sulking in the seat in front of him. Occasionally Lyon caught her glaring at him through the window.

Gray wasn't much better, but at least he was willing to talk to the rest of them. Though, he kept shooting looks Juvia’s way, and he face was frozen in permanent scowl.

Lyon did his best to engage with Mered and Ultear, and stay upbeat, but it was hard to ignore the glares Juvia kept shooting at him through the window. Lyon pretended like he didn’t notice, but anyone could tell that was an act. Twenty minutes into the ride and Mered slid his hand over top of Lyon’s. It helped a bit.

By the time they arrived at the house, everyone was relieved to be allowed out of the cab.

Mered made a beeline for the house, and ended up having to wait for Lyon to make it up the walkway to unlock the door for him. Gray wasn’t far behind, but Juvia lingered by the cab, waiting while Ultear paid the fair.

Lyon watched them from the door, apprehension pooling in his gut. There was no telling what Juvia was gonna do at this point. He waited until the two of them were walking up the driveway before finally starting to take off his coat. For a moment he’d been afraid Juvia might not come in.

Gray seemed to have the same idea. He wasn’t as obvious about watching them, but he’d yet to take anything off, and Lyon caught the way he’d steal glances out of the door every few seconds.

Ultear trudged through the door, peeling off her coat as she entered and ripping off her mittens, scarf and headband along with it. She begrudgingly stuffed them into to the closet in a semi organized manner, before turning to the rest of the group with a sigh. “Okay, I gotta be up in five hours, so I’m off to bed. Have fun, keep the noise down, and try to get some sleep at some point.” She eyed Lyon and Mered as she said it.

“No promises,” Lyon teased.

Mered coughed and went bright red beside him. He averted his gaze when Lyon turned to stare at him. “Night Ul.”

Gray side eyed the two of them and shook his head. He stepped forward and gave Ultear a half hug. “Night Tear.”

Juvia was last and she stepped into the house. She meet Ultear in a warm hug.

“Don’t let these things get to your head. We all love you okay?” Ultear ran a hand over Juvia’s hair and gave her a small pat. “Okay kids, night.”

“Night,” they all echoed in unison as Ultear climbed the stairs.

Mered smiled as he turned to Lyon. “So… popcorn?”

“Hell yes.” Lyon turned to Juvia and smiled at her, hoping they might be able to drop the argument for the night. “Wanna help?”

“I’ll pass,” Juvia said, with a shake of her head.

“Well at least come in and take your coat off. I’m turning into a popsicle,” Mered laughed and flashed her a grin.

Juvia shifted uncomfortably, and glanced back outside. “Actually, I was thinking... I'm gonna skip the movie, get some fresh air instead.”

“What? Why? It’s freezing out there.” Mered protested.

Juvia shrugged, but her eyes darted towards Gray.

“Come on,” Lyon said, and reached out to her. He’d been worried about this, and he didn’t want her going back out on her own. Sure the neighbourhood was safe, and Juvia could handle herself anyways, but it was cold, and she’d end up stewing in her own thoughts and this whole thing would get worse. “Look, I know you’re upset, but just come in, and we’ll talk it out.”

“No,” Juvia snapped. She closed her eyes and her whole body sagged. “Look, it’s fine.” She turned to Lyon. “There’s nothing to talk about, I’m just going for a walk.”

Gray let out an exasperated sigh, and started doing his jacket back up. “You know what, why don’t I go instead.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m going for a walk. Why do you need to leave?” Juvia demanded.

“Because you’re upset with me, and I don’t like the idea of you wandering around alone, in a strange place.” Gray grabbed the door and took a step to leave, only to have Juvia block him.

“It’s not a strange place, it’s your neighbourhood.”

“It’s strange to you.” Gray sighed, and looked like he wanted to strangle Juvia the way he was glaring at her.

Lyon stepped between them. “Okay, both of you take a breath.” He turned to Juvia. “I get that you want space, but I’m with Gray. I don’t like the idea of you being out there on your own.”

“Why? Because I’m a girl?” Juvia fumed. “I can handle myself.”

“Walked right into that one,” Mered muttered, looking completely unamused. Lyon scowled at him, trying to communicate that, he wasn’t being helpful

“Oh fuck off. Can you not twist this around for once? It’s late, it’s cold, it’s dark, and you have nowhere to go. If I leave can go to Erza’s. I’ll sit on her couch or pass out there, where it’s safe and warm, because I’m not fifty shades of crazy.”

Silence exploded in the foyer. Everyone gaped at Gray. Juvia stood frozen in front of him, and Lyon could see the shimmer in her eyes. Before he could do anything, she turned on her heel and stormed out the door and down the walkway.

“Shit!”

“Juvia!” Lyon called, surging forward to catch up with her. This was bad. So bad. She wasn’t gonna let this shit go, and she’d be livid for days. He stalled to glance back at Mered, a heavy twinge of guilt and disappointment weighing on his chest. He’d been looking forward to spending more time with Mered.

Gray caught his arm, holding Lyon in place. “Don’t bother, I’ve got this.”

Lyon arched an eyebrow skeptically. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Seriously, I’ll handle it. This has nothing to do with you.”

“This has everything to do with me, she’s my best friend.”

“And Mered’s your boyfriend, who’s here to spend time with you.” Gray sighed and carded his fingers through his hair. “Juvia’s pissed at me, and she’s upset because of me. It should be me dealing with this, not you.”

Lyon shook his head. “And if you piss her off more?”

“Then I’ll call you, and I’ll sleep at Erza’s for the rest of the week, and you can go back to hating my guts,” Gray pleaded. He shot a nervous glance down the street and bounced on the tips of his feet.

Lyon turned to Mered, unsure of what to do.

“Let him go,” Mered said, as he pressed a comforting hand to Lyon’s arm. “You saw what happened when we let everyone else get involved in our spats.”

Lyon grimaced. “Fine. Just don’t fuck this up." Lyon forced himself to take a breath. "Please.”

“Thanks. I’ll text you when I find her.” Gray called back to them in a rush. He was already booking it down the walkway at top speed.

Lyon lingered in the door for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath and shutting it. It was hard to ignore the anxiety bubbling in his chest, but he was now completely alone with Mered for at least a half an hour. His heart picked up speed for an entirely different reason.

Lyon smirked, and looped his arm around Mered’s waist, drawing Mered close so he could lean down and whisper in Mered’s ear. “Come on, let’s go make that popcorn.” He let his arm slip away and sauntered towards the kitchen, and added sway to his hips. He glanced over his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows when he caught Mered staring at his ass.

Mered huffed and shoved past him into the kitchen, only to stop dead in the center of it. “Uh, where do you guys keep the popcorn?”

“That would be over here.” Lyon planted a hand on Mered’s hip and guided him towards the pantry at the end of the counter and pulled out the jar of kernels.

“Dude, no way. You guys make your popcorn from scratch?”

Lyon cackled. “Of course, have you met my mom? There’s no other way to have popcorn.” He bent down and pulled out the popcorn maker from one of the lower cupboards and patted it lovingly. “This thing’s been around long than I have.”

Mered wrinkled his nose. “That’s not necessarily a good thing.”

“It works fine. Stop being a snob and go get some butter.” Lyon plugged the machine in and flicked it on. It came to life with a whirring sound and he poured the kernels into the dumping cup.

“Ooo butter. You’re going all out tonight.”

Lyon scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s for you and Juvia. Popcorn is one of the few healthy snacks out there, why would I ruin that by covering it in melted fat.”

“Cause it tastes ah-maze-ing. Life without buttered popcorn is sad and not worth living.” Mered slapped an entire stick of butter down beside Lyon, with a smirk.

Lyon pursed his lips and glared down his nose at Mered. He was such a brat, and Lyon wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid smirk off his cute face. Lyon cupped Mered’s chin with his hand and pressed his lips to Mered’s, he pulled back slightly and repeated the action, moving his lips slowly, but firmly. He flicked his tongue against Mered’s chapped lips, and reveled in Mered gasp, before he pulled away. “Definitely still worth living.”

“Dork,” Mered mumbled. His cheeks were scarlet and he couldn’t meet Lyon’s gaze.

Lyon smirked, and leaned forward. His lips brushed against the shell of Mered’s ear and he whispered, “Your dork.”

Mered squirmed and hummed an agreement as Lyon’s lips traced down his neck, feathering kisses as he went. His hands found purchase on Mered’s hips and Lyon pushed him back towards the counter.

Mered’s whole body went ridged.

Lyon’s lips halted right above Mered’s collarbone, and his hands loosened. He pulled back and tried to catch Mered’s gaze. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Mered eyed the counter, and bit his lower lip. His fingers curled tight around the edge of the counter, until his knuckles were white.

“Clearly.” Lyon took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He wanted to shake Mered, but that wasn’t going to help the situation. Instead, his thumb traced circles against Mered’s jeans, and he focused on the feel of the rough fabric. He dipped his head towards Mered. “Talk to me.”

“It’s stupid.”

“More stupid than me freaking out about coming out to my parents?”

Lyon was met with silence. His eyes popped open, and locked with Mered’s.

Mered shrugged. “Kinda.”

“Tell me anyways.” Lyon brushed his nose against Mered’s and touched their foreheads together.

“I’m not ready to… you know....” Mered trailed off and his whole face burned red.

Lyon blinked. His eyes crinkled and he had to bite his inner cheek to keep from laughing. It wasn’t a laughing matter, not really, but he couldn’t help it. Mered was too cute. Lyon took another deep breath and dipped his head so he could nuzzle Mered’s cheek, and he wrapped his arms around Mered’s waist. “You know, I like you flustered and a bit nervous, but I’d never actually pressure you for anything.”

“I know, but- I mean- You want to. That’s why you invited me to spend the night, right?”

“I invited you to spend the night because I wanted to spend more time with you,” Lyon said and bopped Mered on the nose.

Mered wrinkled his nose and frowned at Lyon. “Please. You can’t tell me sex didn’t cross your mind.”

Lyon sighed and kissed Mered’s forehead. “Sure it has, but I’m not dying for it.” He pressed another kiss to Mered’s nose. “I’m actually having fun with this.” Another kiss landed on Mered’s cheek. “You’re cute when you get all shy and squirmy.” He kissed Mered’s other cheek then locked eyes with Mered and smirked. “And I love getting to tease you.”

Mered shoved lightly against Lyon’s chest, but he barely got Lyon to budge. “Fuck you, asshole.”

“I love it when you talk dirty.”

Mered gaped at him. “Ugh. You-“ He pressed his lips together and glowered at Lyon. “I hate you.”

“You know I’m just playing with you,” Lyon said, and cupped Mered’s cheek. “I promise, it’s fine.”

“Sure, right now it is. But you be back at college soon and surrounded by experienced guys, who know what they’re doing and-"

Lyon press his finger to Mered’s lips. “And they aren’t my boyfriend; you are. And it’s okay if you feel insecure, I’ll hear you out, but I want to make it clear that I take this whole boyfriend thing pretty seriously. If I didn’t I would have dated one of the guys I was hooking up with.”

“I know, but I can’t help but feel like you’ll get tired of waiting. I won’t see you for months.” Mered slumped against Lyon and rested his head on Lyon’s shoulder.

“Uh, you’ll see me every day. If you think I’m not going to Facetime the shit out of you, you’re crazy. And it’s not like you’re opposed to phone sex, so it’s not like I’ve gotta go without.”

“Oh my god!” Mered buried his face in Lyon’s shoulder to muffle his wail. “Can you be serious?”

“I am being serious.” Lyon placed his hands on Mered’s shoulders and pushed Mered back so he could look him in the eyes. “We’ll make it work. I’m not going to cheat on you, and you don’t need to sleep with me to make sure of that. I’m with you because I like you.”

Mered stared up at Lyon for a long moment before he reached up and tangled his fingers into Lyon’s hair and pulled him down into a bruising kiss. Lyon’s head swam, and it took him a moment to orient himself. His hands found Mered’s waist again. He pressed their bodies flush together, and kissed Mered back will all he had.

When they pulled away Lyon was panting.

Mered smirked up at him. “I like you too.”

* * *

Juvia watched as the snow covered ground swayed beneath her, as she swung back and forth on the swing. Her foot occasionally caught the ground and pushed off to keep her momentum but for the most part she just sat there listlessly. Her heart hurt, and the rest of her felt numb with the cold.

She didn’t want to admit it, but Gray might have been right, being out in the cold was just dumb.

Snow crunched under heavy footsteps, approaching from her left. Juvia sighed and closed her eyes, trying to find a measure of calm. She knew he’d come find her eventually, though she was surprised it had taken him so long. Juvia looked up and nearly fell off the swing as she caught sight of Gray standing by the swingset pole closest to her. She clung to the chains, and tried to think of something to say to him. Nothing came to mind so she glared at him instead.

He met her glare, and stuffed his hands into his pockets, he scuffed the toe of his shoe against the ground, and waited. Silence stretched between them, but Juvia was determined not to be the one to break it. He’d come looking for her, so he could say what he wanted or he could leave.

“Lyon was gonna come after you,” Gray said at last.

Juvia’s brow dipped in confusion, before her scowl returned. If Lyon was going to come after her why didn’t he? Did he send Gray instead?

Gray sighed and carded a hand through his hair, and shifted against the bar. “I told him it should be me. That this was between us, and that I’d talk to you.”

“I don’t see what we have to talk about,” Juvia bit back.

Gray’s jaw clenched. “We’ve got a lot to talk about, but if you’re just gonna throw everything I say in my face, then I’m wasting my time trying.”

Juvia shrunk under the hard look he was giving her, and her eyes dropped to her lap. She felt like a scolded child. She took a sharp breath and forced her voice to soften. “What do you want?”

Gray stepped towards her, and Juvia’s head rose to watch him as he approached. He stopped in front of her and pulled his hands from his pockets and gripped the chains of her swing just above her own. He towered over her and despite herself, Juvia felt a bit intimidated. “Why’d you freak out when I told Ultear we weren’t dating?”

“I didn’t freak out.”

“Bullshit. You wouldn’t even let me touch you.”

Juvia glowered up at him, frustrated, but she wasn’t even sure if it was because he was ignorant to her feelings or because he wasn’t nearly as apologetic as she’d expected him to be. She’d figured he’d come here to apologize. “Don’t tell me how I felt.”

“Then stop deflecting. You wanna be pissed, fine, be pissed, but at least have the decency to tell me what the hell you’re mad about. I’m not playing these mind games with you.”

“I’m not the one playing mind games.” Juvia leaned forward pressing into Gray’s personal space. “You’re the one who called me crazy and then came out here, and now you’re being mean and accusing me of things as if I’m the one who did something wrong.”

Gray growled and shook the chains. “You are. You’re expecting me to read your mind and know what’s wrong, and when I can’t and I ask what’s wrong, you blow me off. Get even more mad at me, like that’s some sort of crime. And okay, yes, I shouldn’t have said that, and I’ll deal with it, but not until we deal with the actual issue. Now stop fucking around.”

Juvia stared at him wide eyed. Her heart raced and she tried to shrink back from him. She didn’t know what to say, she wanted to scream at him and deny everything he was throwing at her, but the more she thought about it and actually let his words sink in the more she could understand it from his point of view. She wasn’t trying to manipulate him, but she could see how he’d feel that way. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and her throat tightened.

“Shit!” Gray let go of the chains and sprang back from her, as though he’d been burned. “Fuck. Okay maybe that was too harsh. I didn’t mean-“

Juvia shook her head. She brushed her tears away before they could fall. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you were being manipulated, I just thought it was obvious that I liked you. And I thought you liked me too.”

Gray’s expression softened and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I do like you.”

“Then why don’t you want to date me?”

Gray winced and let out a long sigh. He carded his hand through his hair looking distressed all over again.

“Why do you freeze up every time we’re alone together and things might actually go somewhere? Or when I mention seeing you?”

“It’s not every time.”

“It’s most times. Anytime I think we might kiss,” Juvia huffed. “It’s like you’re repulsed by me.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “I’m definitely not repulsed by you, and I only get that way because I know that if I kiss you we’re not going to stop there.”

“So? It’s not like I’m a virgin. I know I’m not exactly comfortable talking about it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not, you know….” Juvia felt heat creeping up her neck and across her cheeks.

“That’s the problem. I know you’re good to go, but I just think that maybe this isn’t something we should rush into.”

Juvia frowned, feeling the harsh twang of rejection all over again. Gray wasn’t the kind of guy who hesitated, which meant that her thought something was wrong with her. “Why not? I want you, you want me. What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with me that you don’t want me?”

Gray groaned and tore at his hair. “You’ve got to be…. Juvia, there is nothing wrong with you. Nothing. I just don’t want to rush into bed with you because I actually give a fuck about you. I respect you, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“What does that even mean? How can you say you don’t want to hurt me, but think that means avoiding me?”

“I don’t!” Gray’s chest heaved, as he took long deep breaths. His fists clenched and unclenched as he stood in front of her, clearly wrestling with his emotions. Juvia waited, letting his shoulders fall, and letting him sink onto his haunches in front of her. “I’m not trying to avoid you, I like spending time with you. I’m just trying not to sleep with you, and it’s not easy. I care about you, and I don’t want to fuck this up. I’ve only had one relationship in my entire life, and it was messed. And Lyon told me about Bora, he said you’re fragile.”

“I’m not.”

“You are. You’re insecure too, and quick to anger. You’re emotions are all over the goddamn place, and I’m still picking up the pieces from my last relationship. You’ll be half a country away, and I’ve got hockey and school, and I’m shit at comforting people.”

“I don’t care. I don’t need comfort, I can take care of myself.”

Gray shook his head. “You should care. You should want those things, because you deserve them, any semi decent human being deserves them. The fact that you think you don’t just proves my point.”

Juvia glared at him as her chest tightened. “So what, you don’t even want to try?”

“I didn’t say that.” Gray scrubbed his hand over his face and sent her a pleading look, that rooted Juvia in her seat. “I’m just saying this shit is going to be hard, and I’m freaking out because Daphne fucked with my head, and she did it on purpose. She’d throw fits and threaten to kill herself anytime something didn’t go her way, and I’m not saying you’re that bad, but you do get really pissed off at people when they don’t see things your way.”

Guilt stirred in Juvia’s chest as she thought of all the times she’d snapped at Gray in the last week. She’d never really thought about how he’d feel about it, or that there might be a reason he reacted the way he did.

“I’m not saying you mean to do it, and sometimes you’ve got good reason to get defensive, but other times… like tonight, you just don’t consider anyone but yourself.”

“I’m sorry.” The words fell from her lips and sounded woefully inadequate. But what else could she say? Could she even blame him for not wanting to be with her at this point?

Gray stood, and brushed off the back of his coat. “You don’t need to be sorry, just be aware of it and work on it.” He held out his hand to her. “C’mon, it’s freezing out here.”

Juvia stared at it for a long moment before accepting it. Gray pulled her from the swing, and turned to leave, but Juvia held tight to his hand and refused to budge. He glanced back at her, confused. “What’s up?”

“I still don’t know where that leaves us.” She got that he had issues, and that he wanted to take things slow, but he also said he liked her, and that he was just trying to avoid sleeping with her. It was all really confusing. She knew what she wanted, but Gray was a complete mystery and she needed answers, even if they could crush her.

“As friends, I hope.”

Friends. The word cut like a knife and crushed her chest like a lead weight all at once. She took a sharp breath and tried to breathe through the very blatant rejection. She felt devastated, like a hurricane had torn its way through her heart. She wanted to cry, and to fight him, but if she did she’d just play into everything he’d accused her of. “Okay.” She felt numb saying it.

Gray let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her. “Yeah?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice. Gray stepped towards her and wrapped her in a hug before she could react. His arms wound around her waist and held her tight. It felt like a vice grip, and she struggled to keep her breaths even as she forced herself to hug him back. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of leather from his jacket and tried to console herself. It wouldn’t be that bad, at least they’d still be friends, she’d still get to see him. She clung a bit tighter when he first started to pull away, but let go a moment later.

Gray locked eyes with her and searched her eyes for something. After a moment he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Thank you for understanding.”

She nodded again and swallowed hard. “Of course.”

It wasn’t like she had any other options.

* * *

As the credits rolled and the ending soundtrack started Mered let out a delighted laugh. “Oh my god. That was awesome.”

“I know, right?” Lyon chimed in, with a childish grin plastered on his face. “Chicago is one of my all time favs.”

“I'm actually looking forward to going to see it now,” Gray said, his eyes still glued to the screen.

“Same! Who knew classic musicals could be so violent?” Mered said.

Lyon scoffed. “A lot classic musicals have at least one death.”

“Yeah, I guess but they're all super depressing. This was fun.”

“Well I'm glad you approve.” Lyon glanced over at Juvia and frowned. “You're awfully quiet considering you just watched our favourite musical of all time.”

Juvia shook her head to clear it and forced a smile. “Sorry, had my head in the clouds for a second.” Truthfully she'd barely watched a second of the movie, not that she hadn't seen it enough times to be able to recite it by heart. Still she'd had a lot to think about, and she'd finally come to a decision on a few things.

“Right.” Lyon's tone suggested he didn't buy it. “It's been a long day, we should all get some sleep.”

“Definitely.” Mered seconded.

The two of them got up and started gathering the bowels of popcorn.

“Oh no, hand those over,” Juvia said and waved for the bowls. “Gray and I are taking care of the dishes.”

“Are we now?” Gray crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

Juvia locked eyes with him, daring him to contradict her. “Yeah we are.”

Gray studied her for a long moment before he shrugged and grabbed Mered's bowl with an exaggerated sigh. “I know better than to argue with you about clean up.”

“That's our cue.” Mered tugged on Lyon’s arm and pulled him back towards the stairs. “Night guys.”

“Night,” Juvia have them both a quick hug and flashed them a smile before heading to the kitchen.

Gray and Lyon called out quick good nights behind her, before two sets of feet climbed the stairs and Gray's thumped towards the kitchen. Juvia had already rinsed her bowl by the time Gray arrived. She handed it to him and took his, while he loaded the other bowl into the dishwasher and grabbed the detergent.

They tidied the rest of the kitchen in silence, each of them sneaking glances at each other. When Gray shut the door and pressed start he turned and leaned against the counter to face Juvia. “You doing okay with everything?”

Juvia nodded and leaned back against the island counter opposite him. She took a deep breath and decided she might as well say what she had to. “I accept that you're not ready to start a relationship at this point, and that there are going to be some things I need to work on before you feel comfortable being with me.”

“Good. I'm glad we're finally on the same page.”

Juvia held up her hand. “I said I accepted it. I never said I agreed with everything.”

Gray’s face fell and he eyed her warily. His body tensed and he folded his arms across his chest. “Okay. What exactly do you disagree with?”

“I don't agree to just being your friend. It’s stupid.”

“You think it’s stupid?” Gray’s jaw twitched. “Well too fucking bad, I said I’m not ready.”

Juvia threw her hands up. “It’s been almost two years, if you’re not ready now, you’re never going to be.” She dropped her hands down to her thighs with a slap. “You said you liked me, and I like you. It’s juvenile to pretend like those feelings don’t exist just because you’re scared of what they might mean.”

Gray drew himself up and glared down at her, and Juvia was sure he was about to storm out of the room. “It’s also juvenile to rush headlong into a relationship you’re not ready for.”

“That's true." Juvia drew in a deep breath. "I'm willing to wait until you’re ready, but I don't want to be just another friend.” Juvia pushed herself off the counter and leaned into Gray’s personal space. “I want you. I want to be with you, and I don’t like having to second guess myself every time we talk, for fear that I’m going to cross some line. I want to negotiate boundaries.”

Gray was caught off guard, and stared down at her blinking. She could see his mind working to process what she’d said.

“Fine.” He held up his hand and raised a finger. “One, we aren’t dating.” He raised another finger. “Two, no sex.” He raised a third finger. “Three, no more mind games or jumping through hoops to figure out what I did to upset you.”

“Okay.” Juvia took a deep breath and leaned back, feeling a bit lighter. “We aren’t dating, but we do like each other, and I’m allowed to act like I like you. I get to say flirtatious things, and I don’t have to hide my feelings.”

“Mildly flirtatious things.” Gray amended. “I don’t want you throwing yourself at me, and I don’t want every conversation to be riddled with innuendos.”

Juvia pouted playfully. “Fine, but if sex is off the table, and I can’t be suggestive, then you need to keep your clothes on.” She poked his uncovered abs to drive home her point.

Gray went beat red from the base of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. He let his eyes trail over her figure, before locking their gazed. “Kay, as soon as we’re done I’ll go get my shirt, but that rule goes both ways.”

Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him. She was pretty sure she’d kept her clothes on the whole time they’d known each other.

“Incase you get any ideas." Gray paused. "And no more wearing that little black dress of yours either.”

“Really?” Juvia couldn't hide her disappointment about that one, she’d planned on wearing it again to Cana’s.

“Really. I practically jumped you on in here the last time you were wearing it, and that’s when I thought you were dating Lyon. So yeah, no more black dress.”

Juvia glowered at him and crossed her arms in a huff. "Fine."

“Also no more kissing.” Gray added.

Juvia froze at that, and looked up at him in alarm. “No more? Not even one?” New Year’s Eve flashed in her mind and Juvia scrambled to reign in her disappointment. The dress was silly and annoying, but this one hurt. She didn't want admit that though, it might make him feel guilty, and the last thing she wanted was a pity kiss.

Judging by the way Gray's expression softened, and the conflicted look on his face, she wasn’t doing a good job of hiding her feelings.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but we both know that’s a slippery slope.” He stepped closer to her, and his fingers wrapped around hers as his thumb brushed over her knuckles. “I’m not thrilled about it either, trust me.”

Juvia closed her eyes and leaned into him, letting her cheek rest against his chest. The heat of his skin surprised her and she nuzzled against him. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, or that she didn’t think he wanted her, but she’d been hoping to replace the memory of her last new years kiss with a better one this year. That and she could use some luck.

Gray wrapped an arm around her waist and placed a soft kiss on the crown of her head and murmured into her hair. “I know this isn’t what you want, but thank you. Thank you for being patient with me.”

Juvia swallowed hard and nodded. In her mind she chanted for patience and courage, and told herself it was going to be worth it. Gray was worth it. She sighed and stepped closer, snuggling against him and relishing in the feel of his touch. It was going to be a long semester.


	26. New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we skip to New Years Eve and a whole lot of things happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this chapter is so late. December burned me out like crazy. (Doesn't help that I'm 3 months pregnant, so a lot of my energy is going into making a baby.) Hoping to post more regularly now that the holidays are over.

“So, how do I look?” Juvia twirled in front of the mirror, causing the silver dress she was wearing billowed out around her, before falling back into place. The dress was one of Ultear’s, from back when she was still in high school, but it fit Juvia surprisingly well. It was a bit long, and a little tight around the bust, but nothing too noticeable.

“Looking good,” Lyon said, giving her a thumbs up.

Ultear nodded. “Fits you way better than it ever fit me.”

Juvia blushed. “Thanks.” She took one more look in the full length mirror. “You sure it’s not too simple.”

Lyon rolled his eyes. The dress had a high neck line, and didn't reveal much top-wise, but the thigh high slits more than made up for it. “Nah, it’s elegant, which means he can’t accuse you of cheating, but those slits…. Ten out of ten. He’d have to be blind not to notice you tonight.”

Juvia smiled at him from over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Here, let me do something with your hair,” Ultear offered and she hopped off the bed.

“Ugh, please! I can never do much with it myself. My arms go numb every time I try.”

“I know. Most annoying thing-“

Lyon flopped back onto his bed, and drowned them out. He was happy to help Juvia get ready but some aspects of girl talk were completely lost on him. His phone buzzed, and he grabbed it and tilted it towards him so he could check the notification.

_ Mered: Here _

Lyon shot up from the bed, as the doorbell rung. “He’s here! How do I look?”

Ultear stopped braiding Juvia's hair and both gave him an appraising look.

Juvia pursed her lips. “I don’t know….” Lyon’s heart dropped, and she broke out into a grin. “Kidding! You look great, now go answer the door.”

Lyon glared at her and poked her as he slipped through his bedroom door. “Lose the braid, it looks better down!” he called back up to them.

He strode down the stairs, and froze near the bottom as he caught sight of Mered. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and had a bulky holiday sweater on. He completely clashed and the sweater looked itchy on top of being hideous. Also hot, and not in the good way. “What the hell are you wearing?”

Mered glanced over his shoulder as he handed his coat to Ur. His eyes trailed over Lyon as he asked, taking in Lyon’s tailored dress pants and designer dress shirt, and he narrowed his eyes at Lyon. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Ur fixed him with a reproachful glare.

“Uh, nothing...." Lyon swallowed hard, and realized that might not have been the most tactful approach. "I just thought we were gonna dance tonight.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So? So you can’t dance in that.”

“Why not?” Mered looked utterly perplexed and more than a little put out. “I’ve danced in these before.”

“Cause you’ll overheat for one thing.”

“And I don’t match for another?” Mered fixed Lyon with a challenging look, daring him to deny it.

Lyon shrugged. “You don’t, but I could live with it if I knew you'd at least be comfortable..”

"Suuure." Mered rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "You're a terrible liar. And it's not like I can do anything about it now, so you're just gonna have to live with me as is."

"There's plenty we can do about it. I have a whole closet upstairs full of clothes," Lyon said as he clomped down the last two steps.

Mered wrinkled his nose, and looked Lyon over once more. "Not a chance."

"Why not?" Lyon whined, and pouted dramatically. "I thought you liked the way I looked."

"I do," Mered said, and picked at his sweater. "But on you, not me. You're clothes are like, skin tight."

Understanding dawned on Lyon and he bit his lip. He could definitely understand Mered being self conscious in form fitting clothes. He thought about it for a moment then shrugged. "Maybe Gray has something you could borrow then."

"Wow, you're really desperate, aren't you?"

Lyon glanced at Mered sheepishly. “Look, I love you, and you're amazing no matter what, but that sweater is a crime, and you need to change out of it."

Mered froze and stared up at Lyon wide eyed, and Ur fumbled with the coat hanger in her hand.

Lyon stared back at them both, confusion mapped across his face. Understanding hit him full force as he replayed what he'd just said. His heart hammered, and his mind hit panic mode, it was way too early to be dropping I love you’s and here he was, dropping them out there like it was nothing.

Not being able to do anything to take it back, Lyon tilted his head back and forced himself to laugh. “Sorry, too soon for that I guess.” He turned on his heel and started up the stairs.

“Did you mean it?” Mered asked, barely above a whisper.

Lyon halted. His heart was in his throat as he turned and smiled. “What? The I love you, or that you needed to change?” Mered stared up at him and scowled, and Lyon’s heart dropped. He gripped the banister and took a deep breath. “Cause I meant both.”

“Oh,” Mered stared at him and shifted awkwardly, before shooting Lyon a soft smile. “Well, cool.”

“Yeah?” Lyon’s heartbeat slowed and his lips curled into a bright smile. That was a way better reaction than he expected.

Mered's cheeks flushed pink. “Yeah.”

Lyon let out the breath he'd been holding and his grin widened. He held out his hand for Mered to take. “Come on, let's find you something else to wear.”

“Fine. But promise me, nothing super tight.”

“I don't think anything of mine would end up being tight on you anyways.” Lyon told him as they climbed the stairs.

“I'm not so sure about that,” Mered mumbled.

Lyon laughed. Tonight was gonna be a good night, and a great way to usher in the new year.

* * *

 

Standing on the doorstep of Cana’s house, it was suddenly clear to Juvia why Lyon didn't think too much about the size of his house. The house was huge, easily the size of a small mansion, and looked like it belonged on the cover of a Christmas magazine. Juvia couldn't stop staring.

Gray jabbed the door bell and jingle bells sounded off, in bell form. The door swung open, before it got through the first refrain, and a young scrawny teen greeted them with a smile. “Hey guys! Come on in, and give me your coats.“

“Hey Romeo,” Gray said, and handed over his jacket. “How’d she get you on coat check for the night. I thought you’d be out partying.”

“No way, I’m getting a hundred bucks for the night, and Natsu’s here,” Romeo exclaimed as he helped Juvia and Ultear out of their jackets and then took Lyon and Mered’s as well.

“Haha, shoulda known she’d make it worth your while.”

“Of course I did, I’m not a cheap skate,” Cana hollered as she bustled towards them with a tray of shots. Lucy was right behind her with a tray of appetizers. Natsu trailed after them and kept trying to sneak a bit, only to have Lucy swat his hand away.

Cana greeted each of them with a quick one armed hug. As she pulled back from Juvia, Cana gave her a once over. “Damn girl, you’re looking hot.” She elbowed Gray and grinned. “Guess I’ll be needing to find a new backup for tonight.”

Gray stiffened and shot a glare at her. He tried to be discreet, but Juvia saw the way he shook his head.

For her part, Cana looked sheepish, which was never a look Cana had when she teased Gray.

“What are you talking about? What back up.”

Both Gray and Cana froze, and glanced back and forth between themselves and Juvia. “Nothing.” Gray said, and wrapped his arm around her waist. “How about we head downstairs.”

Juvia frowned. She wasn’t dumb, she knew something was up between the two of them. “I thought we weren’t playing mind games?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Gray said through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, they have a deal that if Gray doesn’t have a partner for the night they share a New Year's kiss, but you’re here so it doesn’t matter,” Natsu said, flashing Juvia a grin as he snuck a jalapeño popper off the tray and stuffed it in his mouth before Lucy could stop him.

Juvia froze, as her mind worked to process what Natsu had said, as she glanced up at Gray then over at Cana.

Guilt mapped across both their faces, and Gray's hand fell from her back to take her by the hand. "We should talk-"

Juvia wrenched her hand free, and her chest tightened as she thought about their conversation three nights ago. She'd figured when he insisted he wasn't going to kiss her again, he'd at least have the decency not to kiss anyone else either. She could feel the hurt and betrayal rising.

A small voice in the back of her mind told her it probably didn't mean anything. She forced herself to take a deep breath, and fought back against the tears. It didn't matter if it was platonic or not, she still felt like her heart had been shattered.

Silence stretched between everyone and even Natsu seemed to pick up on the sudden shift, his brows furrowed in confusion. “Did I miss something?”

Juvia shook her head, and her voice came out strained. “Nope. Nothing.” She snatched a shot glass off Cana’s tray and downed the shot, and didn’t bother to chase it. She turned to Lyon and Mered as she set the glass back down on the tray. “Shall we dance?”

Mered seemed uncertain what to do, but Lyon nodded and grabbed her hand, and then Mered’s. He hauled them towards the door where you could hear music blasting from. “Yeah, let’s dance.”

“Juvia,” Gray called after her.

Juvia refused to look back, and kept walking. She knew he’d asked her to stop playing mind games, but that was supposed to go both ways. He should have warned her, but instead he ignored her feelings all over again.

Behind her she could hear him curse, and Cana and Lucy asking what was going on.

She hurried after Lyon down the stairs and into the pitch black basement. She needed a distraction and fast.

* * *

 

The basement had been made into a mini club. Techno music blared through various speakers throughout the room, and all the lights were off, except for dimmed lights over the bar. In their place several multi-coloured disco lights lit the room.

The stairway was clear, but the center of the floor was packed with at least 25 people dancing, several others were chilling out on couches and chairs. Juvia surged into the crowd without hesitation and Lyon and Mered followed.

She danced between them for a few songs before slipping away; she wasn’t there to be a third wheel. She was about to head to the bar for another shot when a cute blonde guy waved at her. She waved back and waited as he made his way through the crowd, but she only recognized Sting once he was up close.

“Hey gorgeous!” He shouted over the music. “Your boyfriend looks a little distracted, need a new dance partner?”

Juvia frowned in confusion, and Sting nodded towards Lyon and Mered, who'd gotten a whole lot closer since she left. She blushed when she remembered that Sting had been told she and Lyon were dating.

"He's actually not-"

"Hey no judgement here," Sting said, cutting her off and holding up his hand. "I don't need the details, just looking to dance."

Juvia hesitated and glanced back to the bar. She was hurting but the last thing she felt like doing was complicating things further. The crowd around the bar parted and she caught sight of Gray sitting opposite Cana and her heart twisted. So much for the bar.

She glanced back to Sting. He was pretty cute. If nothing else he would be a good distraction. “Sure.”

He broke out into an infectious grin and grabbed her by the hand, drawing her away from the bar and further into the crowd. Juvia followed without a second thought and let herself get lost in the music, the lights and the night.

* * *

 

The distraction only worked for a little while. As fun as Sting and his friends were, they were strangers, and a tight knit group too. After an hour of inside jokes and several flirtatious offers Juvia decided it was time to face reality and find her own friends.

It wasn’t hard, even in the crowd they stood out. They'd commandeered one of the couches as a resting place from dancing, and had somehow managed to cram seven of them on it. Juvia perched herself on the arm rest, next to Gajeel, who had Levy in his lap.

"Hey Juvia! You're just in time," Levy sang, and handed her a shot glass.

Juvia took the glass from her and glanced at Gajeel. "In time for what?"

"Another shot." Gajeel deadpanned. "No one knows what for."

"Sure we do!" Lucy shouted. "It's for...." She trailed off and looked around for a moment before her eyes locked on Juvia. "It's to Juvia!"

"To Juvia!" The other's cheered, all downing their shots.

Gajeel sent her a look, clearly communicating that this was his point, as the two of them downed their shots.

"Hey, can we talk?"

Juvia stiffened at the sound of Gray's voice. She forced herself to turn and face him, but was at a loss for what to say. She still felt hurt and a dozen biting remarks rested on her tongue, ready to be fired back at him. The only thing stopping her was the look of pain that flickered across his face. He was trying to reach out and fix things, and all she wanted to do was tear him apart and make him hurt too.

She clenched her fists and swallowed her bitterness. This was what Gray was talking about, the anger and lashing out that he wanted her to work on. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice neutral. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea right now.”

“Tch, c’mon. We need to talk about this.” Gray straightened and his shoulders tightened as he frowned down at her.

“Gray,” she warned. Her resolve was faltering and she could feel her temper rising at the change in his posture.

Gray reached for her only to have Gajeel grab his arm.

They locked eyes and Gajeel shifted Levy off of him. “You wanna talk, let’s talk.” Gajeel didn’t wait for a response, he released Gray and was up off the couch and stalking towards the bar.

Gray hesitated to follow, and glanced at Juvia one more time.

Juvia turned her head, afraid to face him and even more worried what she might say if she did. She didn’t want to ruin the night with another meaningless fight or another hysterical meltdown. She held her breath and waited until she felt his eyes slide off of her, and heard his sigh of resignation. Slowly she turned to watch him trudge towards the bar, and tried not to worry about what Gajeel would say or do.

A hand covered hers and she turned to find Levy staring up at her. “You okay?”

Juvia bit her lip. “Sorta?” Her eyes darted to Gray’s back yet again. “Kinda wishing I could shut off the drama in my brain, and have a good time like a normal person.”

Levy peeled with laughter. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt that way, just never was able to put it quite into words.” She flashed a smile at Juvia. “Gajeel used to drive me nuts. I swear, before we started dating, most nights ended with me wanting to hit him.”

“Sounds like Gajeel,” Juvia said between giggles. “He’s always been better at pissing people off than befriending them.”

“Yeah, but we got better at not fighting over time. It’s about learning to listen and making sure you get it. Half the time we fought it was because one or both of us were misunderstanding each other.” She patted Juvia’s hand. “Just takes practice.”

Juvia nodded, and stole another glance in Gray’s direction. She wanted to believe they’d get better at this, that all they needed was practice and time, but time didn’t seem to be something she was going to get with him. She sighed and sunk back into the couch, trying to ignore the painful tug of her heart.

* * *

 

Juvia hated how conflicted she felt. Gray had been keeping his distance since his talk with Gajeel, and while she knew it was for the best, she felt like the opportunity to fix things was dwindling as they drew closer to midnight.

It was an impossible feeling to shake, and it hung over her like an oppressive cloud, even out on the dance floor. She did her best to lose herself in the music and being surrounded by friends, but no matter how hard she tried, her eyes always seemed to find him in the crowd.

The last song faded and a quick soft beat picked up from the speakers. She glanced around to find everyone seemed to have paired up. A soft female voice broke out over the beat, beautiful and sorrowful all at once.

_ "I keep reaching _

_ but you're not reaching back _

_ you're not reaching back" _

All around her people were dancing but Juvia couldn't move. She stood in the middle of the floor listening to the lyrics as she yet again caught sight of Gray by the bar. Cana stood opposite him and her hand rested on his arm.

_ "Trying to get in, find you through the cracks _

_ find you through the cracks" _

She whirled away from the scene and caught sight of Sting. She was about to stride towards him, only to watch as he wrapped his arm around Minerva's waist, and beside him Rogue danced with Yukino.

_ "Guess I'm trying to say (Guess I'm trying to say) _

_ It hurts to feel this small (It hurts to feel this small) _

_ A million miles away, _

_ Next to me, next to me you are." _

As she turned again she realized that all around her were nothing but couples. Her eyes burned and her throat constricted as she forced herself to move off the dance floor.

_ "Well if you're sitting right here, _

_ then why are we worlds apart _

_ why are we worlds apart?" _

She headed towards the couch only to find Loke sprawled across it, with a blond on top of him. His hand had hiked the hem of her dress dangerously high, and they were lip locked.

Juvia rushed past them, face flushed and heart racing as she headed for the stairs. She needed air.

_ "If you're so near,  _

_ Why do you feel this far?  _

_ Why are we worlds apart?" _

She clambered up the stairs and back onto the main floor, shutting the door behind her. She leaned back against it and glupped down air. The faint echo of the song leaked through the door and she pushed off it and headed towards the back of the house.

She caught sight of a clock on the wall and sighed. Thirty minutes to midnight. When she reached the back door, there was a small pile of coats draped over a railing and she grabbed one and put it on. It smelt of smoke, but it was warm enough.

She slid open the back door and stepped outside, letting the cold air rush over her. She closed her eyes and breathed it in, and wondered if she might be able to see fireworks once new years hit.

* * *

 

As the last song petered off and another song took it’s place Lyon took the opportunity to take a break. He nudged Mered and signaled towards the bar and motioned getting a drink. Mered nodded eagerly. They’d been dancing for the better part of the night, it was definitely time for a rest.

They weren’t the only ones with the idea. Gajeel and Levy were already at the bar, and Natsu and Lucy arrived a few moments after Lyon and Mered did. Jellal and Erza were still on the floor and Lyon shook his head and wondered exactly where they found the stamina to keep going like that.

Cana grinned at all of them. “Finally! Pleasant company." Gray glowered at her and huffed, but Cana ignored him. "What can I mix you.”

“Zambucha!" Nastu cheered. "Light it up!”

“Long island iced tea for me please,” Lucy said.

“Beer,” Gajeel said.

“Umm, sex on the beach for me.” A bright blush coated Levy’s cheeks as she said it, and Gajeel went bright red.

“Water for me,” Lyon said. He was parched, and probably dehydrated.

Cana made a face. “Seriously? That’s boring.”

“I’ve been dancing all night, I need to hydrate before I do any more drinking,” Lyon said.

“Fine, but you’re doing a shot too,” Cana said.

“Rum and coke for me,” Mered said.

Lyon glanced around then, and then back out on the dance floor, and frowned. “Hey, has anyone seen Juvia?” She’d been out dancing with them for a while, but Lyon hadn't been paying all that much attention to her. Guilt pricked at his gut.

“Nope,” Natsu said.

“Can’t say I have,” Lucy replied.

“Me either,” Levy added.

Gajeel frowned as he scanned the crowd and then the room.

Gray folded his arms over his chest, and glared out at the dance floor. “She’s probably with dancing with Sting.”

“And who’s fault is that,” Cana countered, shooting him an exasperated look.

“Natsu’s,” Gray shot back.

“What’d I do?” Natsu asked, frowning at him.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “The whole New Year’s kiss thing.”

“Oh yeah. Right.” Natsu had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

“She’s not with Sting,” Mered said, his eyes were locked on the far side of the dance floor.

“Or Rogue,” Gajeel added.

"To be fair, you're the idiot that told her you weren't going to kiss her for New Years," Cana said, and fixed Gray with a pointed look.

Gray groaned and slammed his head against the bar top. "I told you, I forgot about the stupid New Years Eve kiss. I just meant at home, or when we were alone."

"Dude, how'd you forget about New Year's Eve?" Mered asked, then turned to Lyon. "And why aren't you all over his ass about this? Seems like the kind of thing you'd bitch at him for."

Lyon shrugged. "I kinda respect where he's coming from."

Everyone turned to stare at him wide-eyed.

"What?" He frowned at them. "I want Juvia to be happy, but Gray's been through a lot of shit, and I can respect him not wanting to rush into things."

"Thanks," Gray said, standing a little straighter. He seemed a bit lighter, and Lyon swore he could see the briefest hint of a smile.

"No problem."

"Very touching. I still can't spot Juvia," Gajeel said. He was craning his neck by this point trying to catch a glimpse of her.

Lyon let out a long breath and looked over at the couch they’d been hanging out on. The second he saw Loke he slammed his eyes shut. “Definitely not on the couch.”

“You su- What the fuck!” Cana glared daggers in Loke’s direction and slammed the mixer down on the bar top. “There’s fucking beds upstairs!” She glared at Loke for a moment longer before turning to the group. “Sorry, I gotta go deal with this," she hissed, before storming off, no doubt to give Loke shit and break up the make out session.

“She’s probably gone to the bathroom,” Lucy suggested.

“Nah,” Mered said, “Door’s open.”

“Maybe it was occupied and she went upstairs?” Levy suggested.

“Maybe,” Lyon said. He glanced at the stairs and then at the clock. It was twenty minutes to midnight and his gut told him that Juvia wasn’t in the bathroom.

“I’m gonna head up and see if I can find her,” Gray offered.

“Nah.” Lyon caught Gray by the shoulder to stop him. “I'll check on her. She might still be in a mood.”

Gray’s face scrunched up and he looked like he wanted to protest but one glance at Gajeel and his shoulders sagged in defeat. He leaned back against the bar, arms folded over his chest. “Fine.”

Lyon gave Mered a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

“You better be! Otherwise I’ll kiss Gray at midnight.” Mered teased.

Lyon scowled at him, but the appalled look on Gray’s face was enough to ease any real concerns he might have. He’d still give Mered hell for it later.

Lyon sighed and headed for the stairs, hoping that Juvia hadn’t wandered too far.

* * *

 

Juvia took a long, shaky breath and tried to wipe the tears off her face. It was way too cold to be standing out here crying for very long, but she did feel a bit better for it. Taking another deep breath she closed her eyes and force herself to straighten.

It was time to go back in and face the music.

She was about to turn and head back in movement by the far fence caught her attention. Juvia turned in time to catch a dark figure leap over the fence and land with a loud crunch on the snowy ground.

Heart racing, Juvia approached the edge of the porch to get a better look at the intruder. She stopped dead in her tracks as he stood up and dusted himself off. She glared at him, and stomped to the back stairs. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Bacchus froze in his tracks, looking more than a little terrified until his eyes locked onto her. His entire body relaxed at the sight of her and he scoffed. “Going to a party, now how about you move out of the way and let me through?"

“How about no.” Juvia planted herself at the top of the stairs in a wide stance, fully prepared to keep Bacchus out by force. “Pretty sure if you were invited you’d use the front door like everyone else.”

“Pretty sure it’s not your house, and you can mind your own business,” Bacchus said as he climbed the stairs. He stopped on the step beneath her and glared up at her. “Move, bitch.”

“Fuck you.”

Bacchus grinned and let his eyes trail over her body. “Gladly. Told you you’re boyfriend was a fag.”

Juvia panicked. She caught his shirt in her fist and got up in his face. Her other hand was raised, ready to knock him out. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Bacchus laughed. “I’m talking about the fact that I saw Lyon running around with the local fag at some coffee shop earlier this week and they were looking awfully couple like.” He leered at her. “Seems like you’ve been replaced, unless he’s sneaking around behind your back.”

Juvia shoved him and Bacchus stumbled down steps, barely catching his footing, as he clung to the railing. She sneered down at him, but inside her heart was racing.

This asshole saw Lyon and Mered together. She was glad he didn’t harass them on the street, but he clearly wasn’t gonna let it go tonight, which meant there was no way in hell Juvia was letting him sneak into the house.

“Seems like I struck a nerve.” Bacchus grinned wickedly.

“You wish.” Juvia pulled herself up to her full height so she could look down on him. “I knew he was gay. I’d still date him over you any day.”

Bacchus scoffed. “I doubt that feeling’s mutual. He’d much rather prance around with the little pink haired fag.”

Juvia fisted her hand, and was ready to charge down the stairs and deck him when the back door slammed shut behind her.

Lyon’s voice rang out in the silence. “What the fuck did you just call my boyfriend?”

* * *

 

Lyon strode across the porch, rage pumping through his veins. For the first time in his life he was more pissed off than afraid.

“I said he’s a fag,” Bacchus spat, his eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Lyon. “A giant fag, who’s too dumb to know the only place he belongs is in a closet.”

Before Lyon could think about it his fist connected with Bacchus’ face, sending him sprawling down the steps and into a snowbank at the bottom.

Lyon stood at the top of the stairs, panting, and shook his hand out. He’d forgotten how much hitting someone hurt.

Bacchus whirled back up, fists ready, but he stopped short of the stairs, and stared past Lyon's shoulder.

Lyon could feel Juvia standing right behind him, no doubt ready to beat the ever-living shit out of Bacchus. Lyon almost felt sorry for him, as he watch Bacchus’ face darken, as he wiped his mouth.

“Wow, guess you finally grew a pair." Bacchus sneered. "Probably all that build up frustration from not being able to fuck your little prude."

Lyon tensed and eyed him suspiciously. “How’d you know that?”

Bacchus stiffened and his grin fell as his skin went ashen. He tried to shrug it off. “Good guess.”

Lyon eyed Bacchus as he thought about what Mered had told him about his ex. Something churned in his stomach as he put two and two together and came up with a conclusion he wish he’d never realized. His lip curled in disgust. “You’re the asshole he fucking dated last year aren’t you.”

“The fuck are you talking about!” Bacchus glowered back at him, but Lyon could see the fear behind his eyes as he took a step backwards. “Like I’d date some fucking loser fag boy.”

“Bullshit.” Juvia glared down her nose at him, and spat in his direction.

Lyon shook his head. All this time… “You’re messed up, you know that? I almost feel sorry for you, you must really hate yourself.”

Bacchus lunged at him and grabbed his collar, but Lyon only braced himself as Bacchus shook him. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

Lyon shoved Bacchus off him, and stared at him blankly. “Sure I don’t.” He turned then and headed back up the stairs, leaving Bacchus standing in the snow behind him.

It wasn’t the first time he’d walked away from Bacchus, but it was the first time he walked away feeling superior. Feeling proud and strong and unafraid.

Most importantly, he felt free.

* * *

 

Juvia followed Lyon back into the house, and shut and locked the door behind her. She doubted Bacchus still wanted to sneak in, but she thought it was better safe than sorry. She glanced at Lyon, and smiled when she caught him rubbing his knuckles. “You doing okay there slugger?”

“Huh?” He glanced back at her then smirk. “Yeah, I’ll live. Forgot how much that shit hurts though.”

Juvia nodded and took his sore hand in hers and pressed lightly between his knuckles, as she looked over the rest of his hand. “Well, doesn’t seem broken.”

“That’s a relief.”

“You were pretty awesome out there,” Juvia said, meeting his gaze.

Lyon blushed and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. “Uh, thanks. Not sure where the hell that came from to be honest. Finally picked something up from you I guess.”

Juvia shook her head. “That was all you, and how strongly you feel about Mered.”

“Yeah, well, no one should talk about him that way. He doesn’t deserve it.”

Juvia smiled. “No he doesn’t.”

Juvia slipped off the jacket she borrowed and dropped it back onto the pile, and bit her lip. She turned to Lyon. “So, what were you doing up here anyways? It’s like, ten minutes to midnight now.”

“Looking for you actually.” Lyon said, a small furrow appearing on his brow. “You disappeared and we were all getting worried.”

Juvia blushed, and tried not to feel guilty. “Sorry, didn’t mean to worry you all, I just needed some air.”

Lyon nodded and his hand wrapped around her waist. “You doing okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I mean I had a different idea about how the night would go, but I’m okay. It was just weird, you know, being surrounded by couples and being single. I mean, I thought….” Juvia let the thought trail off. Lyon knew what she thought, and she wasn’t quiet ready to admit defeat with Gray. She knew she’d have to face it, but after Thursday, she’d thought she at least stood a chance of changing his mind about the kiss. It was her own damn fault for not listening to him.

“I’m sorry he’s being such an asshole,” Lyon said pulling her into a hug.

Juvia shook her head. “But he isn’t actually being an asshole.”

Lyon sighed. “No, not really, but as your best friend I’m kinda obligated to say things like that from time to time.”

Juvia laughed at that, and hugged Lyon tighter. He was an awesome friend, and she loved him to pieces for it, and she was tired of him having to come and deal with her pity parties. She was getting rather tired of them herself. “Come on. Let’s go ring in the new year! You have a wonderful new boyfriend that you ought to be kissing.”

“We don’t have to go back.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Juvia turned and smiled at him. A real, genuine smile. “We’re not missing New Years so I can throw myself a pity party about your brother not wanting to kiss me. That’s just dumb.”

Lyon held up his hands in defeat. “Well, so long as you’re the one saying it.”

“I am.” Juvia nodded.

“Well then, let’s get this party started!”

* * *

 

Juvia was greeted with a chorus of cheers, and infectious smiles once she returned to the bar, and she felt silly for disappearing on them. But she did get to regale everyone with the story of Lyon’s encounter with Bacchus. She left out the details of him being Mered’s ex, but embellished the rest of it to make up for the loss.

She tried not to be too disappointed that Gray was behind the bar pouring drinks beside Cana, but it still stung. She was past the point of blind anger, but was terrified she was too late for reconciliation, at least, for the night.

Her heart still dropped when Cana hopped up on the bar and yelled out, “One more minute!”

There was this sudden scramble as people hunted for their partners, and others snuggled up together and smiled at each other. It tugged at her heart and Juvia slipped away from the bar, to the far side of their group. She put as much distance between her and Gray as possible.

Beside her Lyon leaned over to Mered and whispered something in his ear.

Then the countdown began.

“Ten”

“Nine”

“Eight”

“Seven.”

“Six”

“Five.”

“Four”

“Three”

“Two”

“One!”

“Happy New Year!”

A champagne bottle popped behind her and several people blew on noise makers and cheered. And then people were kissing. Before Juvia had a chance to think about it, Lyon and Mered flanked her and each of them planted a kiss on her cheek.

Juvia blinked at them in surprise then smiled. She knew they didn’t have to do that, but they did anyways. She pulled them both into a group hug. “Thank you!”

“Of course, we weren’t about to let you be the odd one out,” Lyon said.

“Sides, Lyon said you’re good luck, and I could use some,” Mered added.

Lyon rolled his eyes and Juvia giggled. She slipped out between them and gave Lyon a gentle shove towards Mered. “I’m gonna go get a drink.”

Lyon nodded to her before turning, and planting a firm kiss on Mered’s lips.

Juvia smiled at them then headed for the bar, a small spring in her step. She came to a screeching halt when she saw Gray standing there, looking lonely. She scanned the crowd and found Cana laughing with a gorgeous white haired woman Juvia didn’t know.

Taking a deep breath Juvia approached the bar.

Gray was tense as she approached, but he forced a smile when she finally stood in front of him. “Hey. What can I get you?”

“Vodka Cran.” Juvia bit her lower lip and glanced back to Cana. “She stuck you on bar duty?”

“Nah, I volunteered,” Gray said, smiling in Cana’s direction.

Juvia frowned. “But why, I thought-“

“I know what you thought.” Gray slid her drink over to her, and fixed her with a firm look. “I thought we talked about this, you talking to me instead of getting angry.”

Juvia glanced down at the bar top, and ran her fingers fingers over the wood. Shame and frustration warred for dominance. “We did, but we also talked about you being honest, and telling me things.” She looked up at Gray, meeting his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me about Cana?”

Gray sighed and carded a hand through his hair. “Because there wasn’t anything to tell.”

Juvia let her face fall in disappointment, and her shoulders tensed as she grabbed her drink.

“Wait! Don’t!”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t go.” Gray held her gaze and held up his hands. “I get why you feel that there is, but honestly I hadn’t even thought about the whole New Year’s Eve kiss thing until Cana brought it up. And she’s just happy to not have to give me a pity kiss again this year.”

Juvia huffed and folded her arms, but she leaned back against the bar, giving Gray a chance to explain himself.

“Really, I wasn’t thinking. At least, not about tonight.” Gray muttered the last part and Juvia barely heard him over the crowd.

Juvia averted her gaze and tried to mull everything over in her mind. She kept getting stuck on the fact that she wanted to spend the night with Gray, and so far it hadn’t worked out that way. She wanted to let go, but it seemed like she was stuck in disappointment mode.

“Okay you’re relieved, get your ass out from behind my bar,” Cana exclaimed shooing and shoving Gray out as she stepped back into place. Her gorgeous white haired friend followed her, giggling and eyeing Gray and Juvia like they were a juicy piece of meat.

Gray rolled his eyes at the girl. “Don’t even start Mira.”

Mira beamed at him, and batted her eyelashes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about Gray.”

“Sure you don’t.” He wrapped an arm around Juvia’s shoulder and grabbed her drink for her, before guiding her away from the bar.

Juvia’s heart fluttered against her will at the touch, and she craned her neck to look back at the bar. Cana and Mira were whispering conspiratorially as they mixed drinks. Juvia turned her attention back to Gray and frowned at him. “Where are we going?"

“Out of sight of those two. Mira is the biggest gossip ever and both of them like to meddle way too much in my love life. We’ve got enough problems without the peanut gallery.” He stopped by a small love seat in the corner of and collapsed down into it.

Juvia hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside him. She thought about keeping her distance but there’s no way she’d be able to hear him over the music that had started back up again if she did. She did make sure to leave enough space between them that they weren’t touching. After a moment of Gray doing nothing but leaving his head buried in his hands, Juvia cleared her throat. “So….”

Gray heaved a sigh and ran his hands down into his face and let his arms fall to his lap. He finally turned to look at her. “You should know there’s only one person here I wanted to kiss tonight.”

Juvia looked around the room, pretending to search for someone. “Really? I can see plenty of people you might want to kiss tonight, and only one single girl you wouldn’t want to kiss.”

“You know I want to kiss you.” Gray said.

“I also know you said you weren’t going to. Not even once.” Juvia pointed out.

Gray winced. “I get it. You were talking about tonight, and I was a clueless idiot. Which is why I wish you'd just come out and said what you meant instead of beating around the bush.”

"I thought it was obvious. Who forgets about New Years?"

Gray carded a hand through his hair. "Me, apparently. Are you really gonna be pissed off with me all night?

Juvia shifted uncomfortable and fidgeted with the hem of her slit. “I don't want to be, it's just-“ Juvia stopped and slammed her eyes closed. She didn’t want to make Gray feel guilty, or manipulate him, but she also didn’t know how to tell him that she was disappointed and felt rejected, without doing that. Her hands balled into fists out of frustration.

Gray shifted and his knee brushed against hers.

Juvia’s eyes fluttered open as his hand cupped her cheek, and her heart thundered in her chest at the touch. “Gray?”

He leaned in towards her and pressed his thumb to her lips to silence her. “If all you were asking for was a New Year’s kiss, then I’m an asshole for turning you down.”

“But-“

“Juvia.” Gray locked eyes with her and licked his lower lip, stealing the breath from her. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“I thought that was a bad idea.” She managed to get the words out despite the fact that it killed her to do so.

Gray hummed. “Still is. Very bad idea, I just don’t care.” He leaned forward.

Juvia planted a hand on his chest, stopping him a hairs breath away from kissing her. Every fibre of her being screamed in protested and she had to take a breath to steady herself.

Gray pulled back and frowned at her.

“What’s changed?” Juvia demanded.

Gray cocked his head to the side and rose his eyebrow in question.

Juvia sighed and felt her heart drop. Maybe he was drunk or feeling lonely, maybe it was the dress…. “I don’t want to do this if you’re going to end up regretting it tomorrow.” She moved to stand but Gray caught her wrist.

“I felt jealous when I saw you dancing with Sting.”

Juvia sat back down and turned to Gray. “So you’re just jealous?”

Gray cringed and fisted his hands in frustration. “No.” He took a deep breath and relaxed, it was another breath before he looked at her. “I felt jealous at first, and then I realized I had no right to be jealous. I was the one who wanted us to be friends. And tonight I know you’re coming home with me, so I know nothing’s gonna happen, but once you go back to school….” Gray swallowed and looked a little pale. “I realized that if I’m not willing to give you a reason to wait, then you’re probably not going to. And if you do, it’s gonna be for the wrong reasons.”

Gray shifted towards her and took both her hands in his. “I want more from you, I just need to get through spring semester, before I can properly commit to anything. Even then I want to take this slow. But I don’t want to loose you because I was too afraid to try.”

Juvia sat staring at Gray for a long time, her mind running in circles and she absorbed what Gray was saying. He wanted her to wait for him. He wanted her. He wanted a relationship, eventually….. “So you want to kiss me?"

“Yes,” Gray replied, sounding breathless and relieved.

“Okay.”

Gray smiled at Juvia and she smiled back.

Her heart fluttered wildly against her chest and he leaned in again and his hand cupped her cheek. She closed her eyes as their lips brushed against each other.

It was a soft touch, tentative and lingering, then his hand moved to the back of her neck and he kissed her properly. Full and hard and demanding. It took her breath away and made her head spin and she kissed him back as she clung to the front of his shirt and lost herself in the moment.

When they parted her lips felt bruised and his cheeks were flushed. Their chests heaved as the gulped down air.

“That was-“ Gray took another deep breath and stared at her wide eyed.

“Satisfying?” Juvia supplied.

Gray broke into a grin. “Yeah. Sorta.” He closed the distance between them again in another kiss, though this one was warmer. More tender, and less desperate. He pulled away again, still grinning. “Also kinda addicting.”

“Is that a problem?”

“A little,” Gray admitted, biting his lower lip. “Makes me want to go find an empty room.”

“I wouldn’t complain,” Juvia said, eyeing Gray to see how he reacted. She would settle for a semi private corner at this point, but the look of concern that flashed in his eyes was enough to settle her down. Instead, she took him by the hand, and pulled him up with her as she stood. “But, I’d be equally happy just spending the night dancing.”

Gray smiled. “I can do dancing.”

And so they danced.


	27. Love Me Like You Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cavity inducing fluff ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the wait on this chapter, but I promise you the next one is done and will be up before the end of the week! Thank you so much for your patience! <3
> 
> I can't believe this fic is almost over, but I really appreciate all the feedback, the likes and the comments, you're all amazing. <3

Lyon practically skipped his way through the front door.

New Year’s Eve had been a smashing success. He’d spent the night dancing with Mered, Juvia and Gray had finally sorted out their issues, and he punched Bacchus square in the face. He then got to make out with Mered and continue dancing. All in all, he was pretty sure tonight was the best night of his life.

He turned with a flourish and helped Mered out of his coat, before taking off his own and hanging them in the closet. "Monsieur." He beamed and held out his hand for Gray, who handed him Juvia’s coat.

Ultear shrugged out of her own coat, and handed it to him before tramping over to the stairs. A small smile played on her lips as she turned back to them. “Alright kiddies, I’m off to bed. Try to keep it down.” She eyed them all with a playful smirk.

Lyon rolled his eyes at her.

“Whatever,” Gray huffed, as he shrugged out of his jacket.

“No promises,” Mered said.

Lyon almost dropped Ultear's jacket, and he blinked owlishly at Mered.

Mered’s cheeks flushed red, but he grinned wickedly at Ultear as she climbed the stairs. “Maybe grab some ear plugs, just in case.”

Ultear gave him the middle finger and continued climbing.

“Love you too!” Mered called up after her, as Ultear disappeared into her room. He eyed Lyon with a predatory look as he sauntered back towards the front door. His fingers hooked into the belt loops on Lyon’s pants and gave them a light tug. “So, bedtime for us too?”

Lyon swallowed hard, and looked down at Mered for a moment, trying to will himself to calm down and not jump to conclusions. Mered had had a bit to drink and, while Lyon didn’t think he was drunk, it was better to play it on the safe side. Even if that meant putting his willpower to the test. He smiled and wrapped his free arm around Mered’s waist and planted a soft kiss on the crown of Mered’s head. “Sure you don’t want to stay up and watch a movie?”

Mered locked eyes with him and leaned up on his tiptoes to brush a soft kiss against Lyon’s lips. “Very sure.”

“Right,” Lyon said, feeling completely breathless and a bit out of his element. “Uh, let me put this away-” He held up Gray's coat on the hanger. “-and say goodnight.”

Mered nodded and let Lyon go, moving back towards the stairs with a swagger in his step.

Lyon shoved his coat into the closet and turned to Gray and Juvia, giving them an awkward wave. “Well, night then. Have fun, and don’t have sex on the couch.”

Juvia rolled her eyes and shot Lyon a pointed look. “How about the kitchen counter?”

“Also off limits. In fact, the entire kitchen is off limits, there’s food there,” Lyon replied.

“Hmm,” Gray wrapped an arm around Juvia’s waist and pulled her back against him. He smirked at Lyon. “Guess that leaves the dining room table.”

Lyon shook his head, and rolled his eyes. “Go for it, I’m not gonna have to eat there.”

“There’s also the coffee table, if you’re looking for variety,” Mered added.

Lyon glared at him. “First off; hell no. Second, can you not encourage them?”

Mered raised an eyebrow at him and fiddled with the hem of Lyon’s shirt. “How about you give me a reason not to?”

“How about you get your ass upstairs and onto my bed and I will?” Lyon’s heart thundered in his chest and he was about to take the suggestion back when Mered wiggled his eyebrows at Lyon.

“Yes sir.”

Lyon watched Mered bound up the stairs, his eyes locked on Mered’s ass. He regretted the suggestion even more when Mered paused to shoot him a sultry look from the bedroom doorway. Lyon’s hand tightened on the banister, and he wondered what he’d gotten himself into tonight. He was pretty sure he preferred shy Mered.

“Wait, this is actually happening tonight isn’t it?” Gray asked, pointing between Lyon and Mered.

Lyon shook his head. “No we’re no-“

“Looks like it.” Juvia said, cutting Lyon off.

“Really we’re not,” Lyon protested, then glanced back up at the bedroom. “I think.”

Gray held his hands up. “Say no more. Just give me... fifteen minutes to grab some stuff before you two… start anything.” With that he barrelled past Lyon and up the stairs, to his room.

Lyon let out a long breath and scrubbed his hand over his face. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. On the one hand, Mered seemed to be making things really clear about where he wanted things to go tonight, on the other hand, he might be drunk.

Only 3 nights ago that he’d been afraid to spend the night. But he’d spent the night almost every night since.

“You okay?” Juvia asked, and placed her hand over his.

Lyon jumped. He took another deep, calming breath, and shot her a nervous smile. “Yeah, I’m good. Just worried if Mered’s a bit too drunk.”

“I think he’s okay. I saw him drinking water throughout the night, and he seems pretty coordinated, but if you’re worried, why not ask him?” Juvia said.

“Because that would be rational and solve all my problems effectively,” Lyon said. He cringed over how stupid he was being. “Okay, so I’m gonna go-“ He pointed up the stairs.

Juvia nodded and smiled at him. “You do that.” She gave his hand a quick squeeze then gave him a light shove.

Lyon took a breath, shook his hands out and climbed the stairs, trying not to be too excited.

* * *

 

Juvia plugged the popcorn maker into the outlet on the wall, and smiled when it whirled to life. This was easily the coolest thing in Lyon’s kitchen. She grabbed the kernel jar and poured them into the top.

“There you are.” Two arms circled Juvia’s waist and pulled her backwards.

Juvia started, then breathed a sigh of relief, as she caught sight of Gray. “Geez, you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Sorry, didn’t think you’d startle so easily, what with all the horror movies you watch.” Gray rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed himself tighter against her. “Who’d you think it was? Some psycho killer out to murder us?”

“I wasn’t thinking,” Juvia replied.

Gray hummed and nuzzled against her. “So, think you’d be okay sharing the living room tonight? I’d like to avoid having a front row seat to Lyon’s love life.”

“Why do you think I’m making popcorn? I figured Jurassic Park would be a great distraction.”

“Very good call, nice and loud,” Gray nodded.

Juvia grinned at him over her shoulder. “Also has two sorta good sequels, in case things take a while.”

“See, this is why I like you.” Gray pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

“Because I make plans so we don’t have to listen to your brother fucking his boyfriend?”

“I was more going for, because you’re smart, and like horror and action movies, and make plans that I can get behind. But that too. You definitely make things a lot easier with Lyon.”

Juvia smiled, and twisted around in his arms so she could face him. She let her eyes wander over the form fitting tank top he was wearing. “Nice shirt.”

“You did say I had to wear one,” Gray said, then leaned forward and stole a quick, demanding kiss. “But I definitely owe you for this dress.” His hand traced up and along the edge of her slit, and slid under it to caress the back of her thigh.

Juvia closed her eyes and sucked in a breath, enjoying the rare moment of teasing. Gray pulled his hand away, and Juvia let out a whine of disappointment.

“Ah, ah, you heard Lyon. Not in the kitchen.”

“Fuck Lyon.”

“No thanks.” Gray’s eyes trailed up and down her body and his fingers brushed against her hips. He licked his lips then forced his eyes to meet hers. “How about you go change into something more comfortable.”

Juvia raised her eyebrows at him and smirked. “I hope you realized that sounds way more suggestive than you mean it.”

Gray winced. “Yeah, yeah it does.” He shook his head. “What I meant was, how about you go put on some not sexy pajamas, and I’ll finish making the popcorn.”

“My pajama’s are sexy.” Juvia pouted.

Gray snorted. “Totally, in a completely cute, these come with a matching set for your seven year old kinda way.”

Juvia glowered at him and pulled herself out of his hold. “Well if that’s how you feel.” Juvia took, long slow strides towards the hallway door as she eased the slits on her dress higher up her thighs. “I guess I’ll tell Ultear I’m not keeping the dress after all.”

“I’m not sure what you keeping the dress has to do with the sexiness of your rain cloud pjs,” Gray called after her.

Juvia shook her head and laughed as she took off down the hall to change. She smiled to herself as she did. This was good, she finally felt like they were both in the same place.

* * *

 

Lyon stepped into his room with his heart hammering in his throat and was grateful to find Mered seated on his bed. Lyon flashed him a smile as he shut the door, and Mered beamed back at him and patted the bed.

Lyon took a deep breath and decided he might as well dive right into things. As he crossed the room to sit next to Mered he forced himself to speak. "So listen, I wanted to-" His words were cut off as Mered rose up to steal a kiss.

Mered's arms wound around Lyon's neck and his fingers tangled in Lyon's hair. His lips moved against Lyon's with vigor, heated and demanding.

Lyon's head spun, but he kissed Mered back, and responded wrapping his arms around Mered's waist and pulling him flush to his body. Normally it was Lyon initiating things, and he reveled in the moment, lost for a moment in the unusual forwardness.

Mered spun them around and started to push Lyon backwards. He stole quick heated kisses, as his fingers worked to undo the buttons of Lyon’s shirt. It wasn’t until Lyon’s knees hit the back of the bed that Lyon came back to himself. He reached out and caught Mered’s hands and pulled them away from his shirt, then threaded his fingers through Mered’s. “Woah, woah.”

Mered frowned up at him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing I just think we should slow down a bit.” Lyon leaned forward and pressed a soft, tender kiss to Mered lips and let it linger, before pulling back.

Mered’s brow was still furrowed in confusion. “Seriously? You really want to slow things down right now?”

Lyon shifted uncomfortably but nodded.

"Why?"

Lyon sunk down onto the bed and pulled Mered up to him to stand between his knees. He ran his thumb over Mered’s knuckles and stared down at them, trying to calm his racing heart. Some part of him wanted to say fuck it all, but he cared way too much about Mered to fuck things up so he could get laid. “I want to check in about where the boundaries tonight.”

"Fuck boundaries." Mered pressed forward again angling for another kiss.

Lyon pulled back, locking his arms to keep Mered from getting closer. "I'm being serious."

Mered huffed in annoyance. "So am I."

"You're drunk." It comes out harsher than Lyon intended, but he can't help the mounting frustration he feels over Mered's dismissiveness.

"You're shitting me." Mered scowled down at him and yanked his hands free from Lyon's. "I'm not drunk. What's wrong with you?"

Lyon sighed and carded his hand through his hair. He's asking himself the same question. "Nothing... I just- I don't want you to regret this." He took a deep breath and braced himself. Even if he pissed Mered off, it was still better than taking advantage of him. "Three days ago you were freaked out about spending the night, and now you're all over me, and trust me, I want this, but not if you're not ready."

Mered scoffed, but his arms wound around Lyon's shoulders. "You're such a dork."

“And you're a pain in the ass,” Lyon fired back.

“Not yet, but we’ll get there. For now I was thinking you could be a pain in mine.”

“Did you just-”

“Seduce you with an ass pun? Why yes I did.”

Lyon buried his face in Mered’s shoulder. The realization that this is what it's going to be like from here on out hits him hard. He never pictured a life with puns as a form of foreplay, and he can't say it's all that effective, but it's not as annoying as he'd of thought. He's actually kinda okay with it.

Lyon sighed in defeat. “You're lucky, I love you.”

“Yeah, I am.”

Lyon sat up and stared down at Mered in shock, unsure what to make of the semi-sweet comment.

Mered smiled up at Lyon, his eyes warm and tender. “I love you too.”

Lyon's heart stopped. It took him a moment to break out into a wide grin, and lean down to capture Mered’s lips.

* * *

 

Juvia smiled as Gray sauntered into the living room, holding two large bowls of popcorn. “Aww, I get my own bowl? It's like you love me, or something.”

Gray blanched, and his whole face went white. His mouth fell open, and he halted in his stride.

“Easy tiger, I’m teasing, no need to have a heart attack.” Juvia fought back the pout that threatened to form. It was clear this was going to be a slow moving relationship in more ways than one. But, if this is what she wanted she’d have to learn to be patient.

“Right,” Gray cleared his throat, and straightened as he handed her one of the bowls. He set his own down on the coffee table and walked over to the TV and began to fiddle with the settings.

Juvia had no idea what he was doing, but she suspected it was just and excuse to try to compose himself. She sighed and sat up on the edge of the couch. She’d learned from her previous mistakes with Gray. It felt like they were on the same page, she wasn’t about to assume anything. “Before you start the movie, can we talk?”

Gray tensed, and glanced back at her over his shoulder. “About what?”

“Us? Where we stand now?” Juvia sighed and clasped her hands together in her lap. “I feel like we’re on the same page, but last time I thought that it was a huge mistake, and you said that I should talk to you before I go jumping to conclusions…. So I wanna talk.”

Gray studied her for a moment before his shoulders dropped and he turned to face her. He moved and settled on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. “Okay. Let’s talk.”

Silence crackled in the air between them, like a living force, putting both of them on edge. Juvia knew what she needed to say, but she wasn’t sure exactly how to say it. “I wanna know where we stand now. I get that we’re taking it slow, and you want more time, but I mean… what am I to you?”

Gray sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. “Shoulda known that was coming at some point.” He scratched the back of his neck and shifted in place. “I don’t know.”

Juvia ground her teeth in frustration and tried to keep her temper in check. Then Gray looked her in the eye, and her anger softened at the conflicted look on his face. She reached out and he let her lace her fingers with his.

“We both like each other—” He brushed his thumb over her knuckles— “And we’ve agreed we won’t be seeing anyone else, right?” He shot her a pointed look.

“Yes,” Juvia replied, eying him back. She wasn’t the one with a history of being a serial monogamist.

Gray's leg bounced nervously, but there was a smile in his eyes. “Kinda sounds like dating.”

Juvia’s heart skipped a beat and she sucked in a breath. A sudden panic washed over her, and she wondered if this was all a dream. She squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her grip on Gray’s hands. They felt real. She took a deep breath and locked eyes with Gray again. “Sorry, can you say that again?"

"Seriously? You need me to say it again?" Gray said, agitation slipping into his voice.

"No!" Juvia said, and all but threw herself at him in a panic. She did not want to ruin this moment. “I'm not trying to be mean. I just wasn't sure if you actually said it, or if I was dreaming." Juvia cheeks burned with the admission and she bit her lower lip. “Sorry.”

Gray scoffed, but his lips twitched up into a smirk as he shook his head at her. He yanked one of his hands free and ruffled her hair. “You’re crazy.”

Juvia pouted and shoved his hand away.

“So, we good?”

“Yeah.” Juvia beamed at him, feeling light and giddy. They were dating. Finally! It took everything in her not to get up and dance in victory, or throw her arms around him and cling to him and refuse to let go. Instead she settled back against the couch and pulled her legs to her chest.

Gray eyed her for another moment before pulling up Netflix and flicking through it to find Jurassic park. Then he set the controller down on the coffee table, grabbed his bowl of popcorn, and a throw from the other couch. He stood beside her and nudged Juvia with his knee. “Scoot over.”

Juvia raised an eyebrow at him. “If you think I’m giving up the big couch so you can sleep here, dream on. You’re the one who doesn’t want to sleep in your bed.”

“You’re welcome to it if you want,” Gray told her, but gave her a sultry smile. "I thought we could share.”

“Oh.” Juvia blinks up at him before she scoots down the couch. Her cheeks were flushed and her heart thundered against her chest. He wanted to sleep with her. Well, not with her in the sexual sense, but they would be sleeping on the same couch again, curled up together.

She stole a glance at him, and swallowed hard as he tugged off his tank top. “I thought you were going to stay clothed.”

“I was,” Gray locked eyes with her and grinned. “But there’s no way I’d be able to sleep with you if I have to keep a shirt on, and a blanket, I’d die from heat exhaustion. You wouldn’t want to kill me would you?”

Juvia shook her head, her eyes lingering on his toned abs. “No, we wouldn’t want that…. But I want to say I don’t think I should be held accountable for accidental hand slips tonight.”

Gray leaned forward and hooked his arm around her waist and tugged her back into him. His lips ghosted over the shell of her ear. “So long as they stay above the waist you’ve got a free pass. Sound fair.” His lips trailed down the side of her neck, brushing teasingly against her hot skin.

“Mhmm,” Juvia hummed and her eyes fell closed. She was pretty sure Gray wouldn’t be sticking to his rules anyways, not with the way his hands trailed up her sides or the way he was already kissing her neck. She wondered how long Lyon and Mered would be up for, and whether she and Gray could sneak back up into his room.

Gray’s hands stilled, and he let out an exasperated breath. “You're evil, I hope you know that.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Exactly, you could help at least a bit with the whole willpower thing.”

"You're the one taking your clothes off and kissing me."

"I told you, kissing you is a addictive. You're not even trying to protest.

Juvia smirked up at him. “Sorry.” She didn't mean it though. She wet her lower lip and shifted in his lap. “You could always punish me for it.”

Gray arched an eyebrow at her. “Or I could press play on the movie and remind you to behave yourself.”

Juvia let out a long drawn out sigh and turned back around to face the TV. She liked flirting with him, and she didn't want to stop, but she'd rather not pressure him into things.

They were barely five minutes in when Gray’s fingers began to creep along her side again.

Juvia bit her lip and leaned into him. “I thought you said you were going to behave.”

“No, I said you needed to behave.” Gray’s fingers pressed against her sides and wiggled causing Juvia to gasp and lurch away. Gray snagged her by the waist as a small giggle escaped her. “Consider this your punishment.”

“No, no no no no-“ Juvia whined in protest. She tried to squirm away as Gray continued his assault but he had her trapped against him. Not willing to give in Juvia decided to change tactics. Instead of trying to free herself she twisted in Gray’s arms to face him and planted an awkward kiss on his lips, while still laughing.

Gray jerked his head back and wrinkled his nose. “That was pathetic.”

“Fuck you,” Juvia wheezed between laughs. “If you—“ she snorted— “stopped—“ she sucked in a breath— “tickling—” she struggled against him and Gray finally relented. He let go of her and she fell back against the couch, heaving breaths. “It wouldn’t be.”

“Uh, the entire point of the tickling is to punish you for seducing me earlier and to keep you from seducing me again. If I stop and let you kiss me properly, then I will have completely failed in my mission.”

Juvia propped herself up on her elbow and glared at him. “One of these days I’ll get you back for that.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Gray said meeting her gaze with a soft smile. His eyes dipped down to her heaving chest, and he closed them and took a deep breath.

Juvia was tempted to crawl back over top of him and steal another kiss. A better kiss. But she had a feeling that would end in more tickling. Instead she waited.

Gray sighed and shifted, prying one of the pillows out from behind him and flopping it over his chest. He met her gaze and patted it. “Come on, the movie’s about to get good.”

“I don’t know if I should trust you,” Juvia said, and eyed him warily.

Gray smirked and held up his hands in surrender. “No more tickling, I promise.”

Juvia lingered mid couch before crawling back up to snuggle against him and the pillow. “If you do I’m gonna break up with you.”

Gray laughed, loud and hard, and rich, and it reverberated through Juvia straight into her heart. “Really now? You’re gonna break up with me, after all the fuss?”

“Only if you keep tickling me.” Juvia pouted, and buried her face against his shoulder.

“Well then I guess I better make amends.” Gray tilted her chin up with his hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was soft and tender, and the feel of it lingered for a moment even after he pulled away. “Better?”

Juvia nodded. Her cheeks burned and her heart was playing jump rope in her chest. It was more than a little unnerving to be in so deep with a guy she’d only known for two weeks, but she was definitely a goner.

Gray smirked and placed another gentle peck to her forehead and then draped an arm around her waist and settled back against the couch.

Juvia turned to watch the movie, but the sound of his heartbeat beneath her was the only thing she could focus on.

Eventually it was the sound that lulled her to sleep.


	28. A New Dawn, A New Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just popped on after so long cause someone asked me to link this and I realized that some how I managed to not post the last chapter. I'm so so sorry about that! Anyways, here it is.

"Psst."

Juvia furrowed her brow and buried her head deeper into the warmth beneath her, hoping whoever wanted her would go away.

"Look," Silver whispered. His voice was distant and came from somewhere on her left. "I think they finally sorted things out."

"Don't get your hopes too high, they could have passed out again," Ur whispered back.

Juvia pinched her brow together, and let out an annoyed little huff of breath. She felt exhausted and it must have still been early. Couldn't they let her sleep?

"I don't think so, they look pretty comfy."

"They're sleeping on the couch," Ur pointed out. "Not exactly romantic, especially since Gray has a bed."

"It might have been a bit crowded last night." There was a pause before Silver continued, his tone a little wary. "I think Mered spent the night."

"He's spent the night most of this week." Confusion laced through Ur's words.

Silver cleared his throat, and the room when quiet.

Juvia hummed in relief and snuggled closer to Gray, tightening her grip around him. A small smile tugged at her lips, as she remembered exactly where she was and who it was she was sleeping on.

"Oh!" Ur yelped.

Gray jolted at the sound.

"Ohhh, you mean-"

Gray shifted beneath Juvia, and groaned. He twisted towards their voices, and his own voice rose in a harsh whisper. "Can you two go gossip in the kitchen. Juvia's sleeping, and I'd like to be sleeping too."

Juvia groaned and stretched against him, letting her eyes flutter open. "It's fine." She yawned. "I'm already up."

Gray grunted and glowered at his parents.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me," Ur snapped, turning to glower back at Gray, but her annoyance didn't last long. Guilt flashed across her face, and pink dusted her cheeks. "Sorry for waking you though."

"It's okay." Juvia smiled at her and poked Gray lightly when he opened his mouth to protest. She smiled up at him, and he huffed.

"Whatever." Gray tugged her closer and settled back against the couch.

Silver beamed at them. "So... You two look pretty cozy. Anything we should know about?"

Gray shot Silver a dirty look out of the corner of his eye. "Seriously?"

"What? It's a simple question."

"I was just sleeping, like, two minutes ago."

Ur placed a hand on Silver's shoulder. "How bout we go put on some tea and coffee. Give these two a chance to wake up." Ur tugged Silver back towards the kitchen, and he relented with a sigh, but Juvia caught the small upward turn of his lips.

The second they were out of sight Gray scrubbed his hand over his face, and let out a muffled groan. "Gods the are fucking embarrassing."

Juvia giggled, and reached up to brush a stray lock out of his face. "I don't know, I could get used to it."

Gray pulled his hand down to study her. "You're gonna have to. If you thought they were bad with Lyon this is gonna be ten times worse. My dad's been waiting for me to get a girlfriend for years."

Juvia smirked and drew herself up over top of Gray, then leaned forward. The kiss was long and slow, and she let her fingers tangle in his hair. His hands came up and around her back pulling her down on top of him. When she finally pulled away he smiled. "Okay, if that's part of the deal, I could get used to it too."

* * *

Lyon woke to find Mered pressed against his back, and Mered's arms wound tight around his waist. He wanted to chuckle; he'd never pictured himself a the little spoon before. He twisted in Mered's grip, careful not to wake him, and smiled at the sight before him.

The light shone through the back window, and played over Mered's locks, turning them all the colours of a sunrise. Lyon reached out and swept the hair back behind Mered's ears and smiled.

The moment was serene.

His finger stroked along Mered's cheek, until Mered's nose scrunched up and he batted Lyon's hand away with a groan.

Lyon scoffed, so much for peaceful and serene. Even in his sleep Mered was still Mered. Lyon was tempted to reach back out and poke one of those baby cheeks of his.

Mered scrunched his brow up again, before turning away from Lyon and curling up in a ball on the other side of the bed. He clutched the blankets up around his head to shield him from the light.

Lyon smirked, someone clearly wasn't a morning person. He scooted across the bed and curled up around Mered, nuzzling into Mered's neck.

"Mfgh," Mered grumbled, then shrugged. "Get off, it's too early for you to be this touchy."

"I beg to differ," Lyon said, letting his fingers trace up and down Mered's side. He got his hand swatted for it, and Mered somehow managed to contort himself so he could glare at Lyon.

"I said stop. Some of us still want to sleep." With that Mered turned back around and curled up into an even tighter ball.

Lyon smirked as a wicked idea formed in his mind. He edged forward and peppered a few gentle kisses on Mered's neck, causing Mered to squirm. "Did I wear you out last night?"

Mered let out a huff of annoyance, and turned, rolling right over top of Lyon in the process. He was rewarded with a couple grunts and a jab or two in the side.

"Rude!" Lyon said as he shoved Mered off of him, and onto the other side of the bed.

"You started it."

"I was being loving and tender, you just rolled over me."

Mered rolled his eyes. "I was trying to sleep, and you wouldn't leave me alone. I don't care what they say in the movies, there's nothing romantic about someone touching your face while you're sleeping. It feels weird and annoying."

Lyon gaped in mock horror. "You take that back!"

"Like hell I will." Mered gave him a disgruntled look.

"Take it back or I'll tickle you," Lyon threatened.

Mered scowled back at him. "You tickle me and I'll punch you until you stop, I swear to God."

"So violent," Lyon eyed, him then smirked as his eyes wandered down Mered's exposed figure. "The sexiness makes up for it though."

Mered cringed. "Dude, no. I love you, but you're a mess. No wonder you spend hours in the bathroom."

"Excuse me?" This time Lyon actually felt offended. Mered was a little brat. He glowered at Mered and rolled out of the bed in a huff. "You're such an asshole."

Mered burst out laughing, and curled in on himself as he clutched his stomach.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Lyon snatched the towel hanging from his closet door and wrapped it around his waist. "I'm gonna go have a shower."

"Oh come on!" Mered lunged off the bed after him, he tripped over the sheets and practically barrelled into Lyon.

Lyon caught him around the waist and tried to ignore the trim lines of Mered's back muscles as his hands slid over them. "What are you doing? You could have killed yourself."

"Chasing after your stupid ass." Mered pulled himself upright against Lyon. "You know I'm just teasing you, stop being so extra and come back to bed."

"I am not being extra," Lyon huffed, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Mered rolled his eyes. "Suuure you're not." He tugged at Lyon's arm. "Come back to bed you dork, I want to sleep more."

"I don't see what you need me for, you were just complaining about how I was preventing you from sleeping."

"Yeah, and I'll probably complain some more and you'll keep being a pest, and eventually I'll find some way to shut you up, cause I'm awesome, and then we'll curl up and sleep for-"

A knock at the door cut Mered off.

They glanced at each other, and Mered pulled the sheets higher up his body.

"Yes?" Lyon called out.

"Just me," Juvia called back through the door. "We heard you to thumping about, so I thought I'd let you know breakfast is almost ready."

"And tell them the rest of us would like to be able to eat it, even if they don't." Gray hollered, though his voice was faint.

Lyon glared at the door, and Mered went bright red.

"Tell Gray to mind his own business. We'll be down shortly," Lyon said.

"Shortly as in?" Juvia left the question hanging and Lyon shook his head.

"As in as soon as we're dressed, and I've had a chance to do something with my hair."

"So basically, you'll want to start without us," Mered teased.

Lyon shot him a scathing look and he grinned back at Lyon like the cheeky devil he was.

"We'll be down in twenty. If Mered doesn't show though he's probably sleeping and you shouldn't worry about it."

"Right," Juvia said. He could hear the reproach in her voice. "Well we're serving in twenty then, so if it's cold when you get down that's on you."

"Noted," Mered said.

Footsteps padded down the hall and stairs.

Lyon glared at Mered before wrapping an arm around him and drawing him in for a quick kiss. "You're lucky you're cute."

* * *

As Lyon stepped into the kitchen, all eyes locked onto him, and he was met with a room full of knowing smiles. He stumbled to a halt, and Mered crashed into his back, almost knocking them both over.

"Dude, what the hell?" Mered hissed. He glared at Lyon then turned to the rest of the family and broke out into a blush. He inched himself behind Lyon, and proceeded to bury his face into Lyon's back.

Lyon could make out Mered's muffled groan, and he had to chuckle. His family was being rather embarrassing, but he knew they weren't judging. He patted Mered's hands, which had wrapped around Lyon's waist and were clutching his shirt. "Sorry dear, I thought I'd walked into a scene from the Stepford Wives." Lyon shot everyone a meaningful look.

All of them had the decency of looking sheepish, save for Gray, who'd been the only one not ogling Lyon. He'd been busy stuffing his plate full of food and was now sitting down at the kitchen table with Ultear and Juvia.

"I take it you two slept well?" Ur asked, trying to break the ice. She sent a sympathetic smile Mered's way, but Mered's face remained firmly planted in Lyon's back.

"Yep," Mered replied, his voice strained and unnaturally high pitched.

"Very well," Lyon said, he beamed at the room and strode forward, causing Mered to pitch forward behind him and then scurry to maintain his hiding space. Lyon could feel Mered's glare on his back. "Best sleep I've had in months."

Lyon plucked two plates filled with food off the counter and headed to the kitchen table.

"I doubt that." Gray muttered.

Lyon quirked an eyebrow at him. "And you? Did you get much sleep last night Gray? I didn't hear you come to bed."

Gray's ears went red. "I slept fine." His eyes darted to Juvia and their parents. "And given how well you were sleeping of course you wouldn't have heard me."

"Really? 'Cause you look like shit. I'd be surprised if you got any sleep at all."

Silver tried to cover a snort by faking a cough, and Juvia rolled her eyes.

"We slept fine, but we were up pretty late watching movies and your parents woke us up at the crack of dawn, so can't say there was much sleep to be had," Juvia said with a yawn. She downed the rest of her tea, and set the mug back down so she could refill it.

Ultear handed her the teapot, and managed to elbow Mered by accident as she tried to fold her arms back into place. "I think we need an upgrade."

"Definitely need an upgrade," Silver said as he tried to shift his seat closer to the table, only to find it was too tight to fit.

"We'll get one before March Break," Ur said. She took a bite of her food before she continued. "You two are coming back right?" She gestured to Lyon and Juvia.

"Definitely."

"I'd love to if it's not too much trouble," Juvia said.

"It's not," Gray said, before anyone else can reply. "I cleared it with my parents before buying you the ticket, but since Lyon's bed's gonna be occupied, you can stay in my room."

Juvia's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Gray shrugged, and averted his gaze, but his cheeks were pink. "I'll have to spend at least a few nights at the university cause of hockey games, so it makes sense. That couch is lousy to sleep on."

"But what about when you are home?" Mered asked, a gleaming smirk played on his lips.

Gray shot Mered a pointed look. "We'll share. It'll be better than trying to cram both of us onto that couch again."

"You're assuming you two will be sleeping together all week?" Lyon fixed Gray with an appraising look.

"We're dating, so yeah."

Lyon nearly choked on his food. He'd gathered things had been going well between them but that was news. He let out a hacking cough. "You are? Since when?"

Gray shrugged. "Last night."

"We talked," Juvia beamed, and bounced in her seat.

That would explain her excitement this morning. Not that Lyon didn't think Juvia was happy for him, but she was never keen on the details of his sex life, not that she wouldn't be getting them anyways. They had two days of driving ahead of them.

"Right. Talked." Mered used air quotes for talked and wore the same knowing smirk Lyon's parents had on early.

"Yes, talked," Gray said through gritted teeth. "And slept. That's it."

Mered pouted. "Well that's boring. I totally got you permission to bang in the dining room."

"Excuse me?" Ur scowled at all of them over her coffee cup. "Who exactly gave you permission?"

"No one," Lyon said, shooting a glare at Mered. "He was teasing and being a little pest."

Ur straighten, and eyed them all before nodding. "Okay good. Keep it that way. I don't care what you do in your rooms but the rest of us use this house too, and we eat on that table."

"Exactly. So, whatever you do, make sure you sanitize it afterwards." Silver said with a smile.

"Silver!" Ur glowered at him, which prompted the rest of the table to burst out into laughter.

As Lyon sat there at the overly packed table, surrounded by family and friends, laughing and cheering he took a moment to take it in. He was certain this was as good as life was gonna get, and he wanted to savour it.

* * *

3 Days Later

* * *

Juvia stood at the front door, with their bags as Lyon hugged his Mom for what had to be the fifth time in the last twenty minutes.

"Now, I know you're busy, but please call more. I've hated being so out of touch with you all these years," Ur insisted, tugging Lyon tighter to her.

Lyon placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I will, I promise."

"I'll hold him to it," Juvia said.

"Better hold yourself to it as well," Silver said, eyeing her. "We expect update calls from you too."

"And what he means by that is he expects you to complain incessantly to him about me," Gray grumbled as he pushed his way passed his dad. He handed Juvia a large travel mug.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. A small smile played on her lips as she did. "And I doubt I'll have anything to complain about other than how much I'll miss you."

Gray snorted. "I doubt it."

Juvia rolled onto the balls of her feet, and leaned against Gray, one hand rested on his chest. "You shouldn't. I can be very resilient when I want to be."

"I think you mean stubborn," Gray teased. One of his arms wrapped around her waist to help her balance, as she placed a peck on his cheek. Gray blushed and kept his eyes averted from his family who were all watching with knowing smiles.

Mered hip checked them causing Gray to stumble and Juvia to cling to him to keep her balance. "If you keep talking like that you're gonna end up in the dog house, sooner rather than later." He sauntered past them and grabbed the handle for Lyon's suitcase, and smiled up at him. "Come on, I'll help you load the car." Mered glanced back over his shoulder to Juvia and shot her a cheeky grin. "Feel free to take your time."

Lyon rolled his eyes as Mered headed out the door, then turned back to Ur and gave her another tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you, but I promise to call more. We can even try Skyping sometime."

"I'd like that a lot." Ur let him go and stepped back so Ultear could hug him next.

"You better unblock me from all your Facebook pictures," Ultear grumbled. "I've missed years of your life."

"Yes, yes. I already said I would." Lyon pulled back as she ruffled his hair and scowled at her.

He turned to Silver, who chuckled.

"I'll let you go without any more nagging. Just call when you stop for the night, otherwise I'll never hear the end of it."

Lyon smirked and nodded, and stepped forward to hug Silver one last time. "Can do." He took a deep breath and looked over his family and the house one last time. "Guess I'll see you all in March."

"You will," Ur assured, with a smile.

Lyon nodded and turned to Gray. "I'll see you outside?"

Gray nodded back and Lyon took a deep breath then headed out the door to help Mered.

Juvia watched him go, and felt her own time growing short. It was weird to think of leaving his home; she'd only been here for two weeks but it felt like a life time. Long enough that it had started to feel like her own. She let her gaze drift over Lyon's family and clung tighter to Gray. She didn't want to have to say goodbye to them.

Sure, she knew she'd be back, but March was a long time away and there was a lot that could happen between now and then. She'd just found her place here and the thought of leaving it hurt.

Gray's hands rubbed her lower back, and she could see the concern in his eyes.

"I don't wanna go," Juvia admitted in a voice just above a whisper.

Gray smiled down at her. "I don't want you to go either, but you've got school and work, and so do I. It'll go by quick though, you'll see."

"Pfft," Silver scoffed. "School's overrated and you could easily get a job here. Heck I'll hire you right now, and you can have Gray's room while he's in Magnolia."

"Silver! Don't tease her about things like that," Ur scolded.

"Who said I was teasing?"

"She can't just drop out of school!"

"She can transfer."

Ur arched an eyebrow at Silver and huffed. She planted her hands on her hips and threw him another exasperated look. "The next semester starts next week. That's not enough time for her to transfer, at least let her get through the next one. Once summer is here you can concoct as many half baked plans as you'd like."

Juvia bit her lip and tried to fight the smile threatening to form. It was nice to know that she'd be welcome here if she wanted it. A part of her was tempted to look into it. "It's a sweet thought, but I'm happy at Margaret Collegiate. Besides, if I transferred it would still be to Magnolia, and I'd either have to commute every day or move in on campus, and without the scholarship it's a bit out of my price range."

Silver opened his mouth- no doubt to offer to help- but Gray cut him off.

"Well there's a few people talking about sharing an apartment off campus, which would be cheaper…." He trailed off as Juvia stared up at him wide-eyed. "Not saying you have to! Just uhhh-"

"We can talk about it some time."

"Yeah?"

Juvia nodded, not trusting her voice. She was pretty sure the only sound she'd make would be a high pitched squeal of delight, and that might have Gray reconsidering the offer. The fact that he'd already thought about all of this, despite them only having started dating three days ago wasn't lost on her.

Gray smiled at her, but it faltered a bit as he sighed. His hand gripped the handle on her luggage. "We should probably wrap this up, you guys have a long drive to go."

Juvia's heart dropped a little and she nodded and turned to his family. She hugged them one by one and exchanged goodbye's, and promised to call and Skype. With a final deep breath and one last look around the foyer Juvia left her new home behind, but knowing that she'd be back again in a few months.

* * *

Lyon couldn't keep the smile from his lips as the scenery flew by outside the window, and he and Juvia hummed along to their playlist. Normally they'd be singing, but he figured she was lost in thought. He certainly couldn't keep his own mind from wandering.

The last two weeks had been a whirlwind, and their drive up had felt like it happened years ago.

A highway sign caught his attention and announced that the were now leaving Magnolia. Lyon smirked. He remembered the anxiety he felt as they drove past the sign that first announce he was an hour away from home. He thought of all the planning that had gone into getting them that far. It was hard to believe that, at the time, his only hopes had been to get through the two weeks unscathed and maybe get through a date or two with Mered.

He wanted to laugh at how things had turned out. None of it had gone according to plan.

" _It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!_

_It's Raining Men! Amen"_

Juvia's phone sounded and Lyon glanced at the dashboard. They'd been driving for a little over an hour.

Juvia frowned at him; confusion mapped across her face.

" _I'm gonna go out, I'm gonna let myself get,_

_Absolutely soaking wet!"_

"You gonna answer that?"

Juvia continued to eye him as she dug around in her purse to pull out her phone, her ringtone continuing to go off as she did.

" _It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!_

_It's Raining Men! Every Specimen!"_

Juvia pulled her phone free and turned to see who was calling. She let out an ear piercing shriek, and promptly dropped it.

"Oh my God!"

" _Tall, blonde, dark and lean_

_Rough and tough and strong and mean"_

Lyon cackled and watched out of the corner of his eye as she scrambled to retrieve it. Her face was a brilliant shade of red. Definitely worth it.

" _God bless Mother Nature, she's a single woman too_

_She took on to heaven-"_

Juvia finally managed to answer her phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello." Her voice was shaky, and she was still wide-eyed.

There was a pause and then Juvia side eyed Lyon. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just, um, Lyon got into my phone again."

Lyon wasn't even trying to hide the shit eating grin on his face and he could hear Gray's laughter on the other end. It had actually been Gray's idea, and Lyon had jumped at the chance, even if it had meant taking a few pictures of Gray topless. Juvia's reaction was beyond worth it. Plus, now she at least had something to ogle when Gray was too busy.

"Wait you were in on this, too!" Juvia's voice was shrill and her whole face was red. There was a short pause, and she pouted. "I don't know! Lyon can be pretty sneaky with a camera when he wants to."

Her cheeks burned red and Lyon wondered exactly what Gray was telling her. He shook his head. Some things he was better off not knowing. He hit the off button for the car stereo so it would be easier for her to hear Gray, then focused back on the road.

He couldn't keep the smile off his face, as he took in the snowy landscape one last time. It was exciting, knowing he'd be back in only a few short months. And this time there was no dread, no worries. For the first time in a long time home felt like home. No secrets attached.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to IKYSS. I've actually posted several chapters of this on tumblr and ff.net but finally decided to put it up here so the first several chapters will be posted fairly quickly. Hope you enjoy.


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